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Difficulty: MediumCalls for Reform and Responses after 1900

"We are the product of 500 years of struggle: first against slavery, then during the War of Independence against Spain led by insurgents, then to avoid being absorbed by North American expansion... But today, we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We are the dispossessed, the millions of indigenous peoples, and we call on our brothers and sisters to join this struggle for work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice, and peace. We will not stop fighting until we achieve these basic demands of our people by opposing the international trade agreements that threaten our communal lands and economic sovereignty."

— Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), First Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, December 1993

Based on the passage, the opposition to "international trade agreements" was most directly a response to which of the following late twentieth-century developments?

  1. The implementation of neoliberal economic policies and free-trade agreements.Answer
  2. B
    The expansion of direct territorial administration and military occupation by imperialist powers.
  3. C
    The implementation of state-directed agricultural programs under the Green Revolution.
  4. D
    The complete cultural homogenization of indigenous societies through Western consumerism.

Answer

The implementation of neoliberal economic policies and free-trade agreements.
The correct answer is correct because the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico, was launched on January 1, 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect. The EZLN protested NAFTA and other neoliberal reforms because they eliminated constitutional protections for communal lands (ejidos) and exposed local indigenous farmers to competition from heavily subsidized foreign agricultural imports, threatening their economic survival.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source, date, and content of the stimulus document.
The document is the First Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in December 1993, protesting international trade agreements and demanding land and autonomy.
To identify the historical context and the primary grievance of the authors.
2
Relate the date and context of the declaration to late twentieth-century global trends.
The declaration directly preceded the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on January 1, 1994, which is a major example of neoliberal economic policies.
To connect the specific regional protest to the broader global processes of globalization and neoliberalism covered in Unit 9.
3
Evaluate the options to identify which historical development matches the Zapatista opposition to these trade agreements.
The implementation of neoliberal economic policies and free-trade agreements is the correct match, as it represents the specific trend being protested.
To confirm the correct option while eliminating distractors that represent different eras or historical concepts.

Key Concept

Resistance to economic globalization and neoliberalism
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Calls for Reform and Responses after 1900

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