Comandanta Esther

Comandanta Esther is the nom de guerre of a revolutionary in the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) of Chiapas, Mexico, created for indigenous people's rights. She is considered a high ranking woman in the EZLN. Military "commanders" have no actual military or governmental power and are simply spokespeople for the movement. Comandanta Esther is best known for her March 2001 speech to the Congress of the Union at the San Lazaro Legislative Palace in Mexico City, in which she spoke for constitutional recognition of indigenous people and the difficulty that indigenous women face in Mexico, demanded that their rights be acknowledged. Her work has helped inspire women activists to speak up in and join leadership roles in their communities in Mexico. Biography Comandanta Esther endured a difficult childhood as her family suffered from poverty and hunger. She lived with her mother and several siblings, four of whom died from lack of food or from illness. They did not have enough money; they ate tortillas and occasionally beans. Additionally, Esther did not know how to speak Spanish. She had gone to school as a child, but she did not learn because she did not understand the language. In her words, she learned how to speak and write in Spanish upon joining EZLN. Later, as Esther grew up and started to become aware of the poverty around her, she began to attend indigenous meetings where they talked about the state of their community. She gradually started increasing her political participation, but was not met without obstacles due to being an indigenous woman living in a region where inequality is common. Political participation