Popular Revolutionary Army

 http://www.fotw.stm.it/flags/mx-epr.html
 
 
 

The self-declared "People's Revolutionary Army" (EPR) emerged from the southern Sierra Maestra of the state of Guerrero June 28, 1996 and its appearance was no surprise. Ever since the January, 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, it has seemed that a new guerrilla movement would soon surface in the sierra of Guerrero.  This is what happened two years after the cease-fire between the Zapatistas and the Mexican Government.  The second guerrilla group sprang up just north of Chiapas and government officials have been quick to label the rebels as "common criminals."

Guerrero has widespread poverty and remote, tree-covered mountain ranges conducive to guerrilla activity. No one in Mexico is quite sure just who or what the Popular Revolutionary Army is. But since bursting on the scene, complete with olive uniforms and AK-47s, the self-styled rebels have launched a series of coordinated attacks against the government.
 
Their strength is put at anywhere from 200 to 2,000. They are known as either Marxist forming a textbook revolution or just plain armed thugs. They are the forerunners of a peasant revolt or a fringe group much like the "militias" in the United States.

 
Commanders
of the
Popular 
Revolutionary
Army
Operating in six of Mexico's poorest, southern states, the guerrillas, known by the Spanish abbreviation EPR, have used ambush military operations to get their point across.  After sporadic firefights most members melt into the mountains, despite massive military responses involving thousands of soldiers.  Yet, the mysterious group appears to be avoiding a lot of confrontation with Mexican security forces, and clashes have been infrequent.

The EPR has had a lot of conflict with the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). Zapatista leaders have denied any involvement in the new guerrilla outbreak. Marcos, their leader, has commented that the Popular Revolutionary Army fights to seize power while the Zapatistas fight for democracy, liberty and justice.  Indeed, it may be the EZLN's increasingly pacific posture that provoked the emergence of the EPR. Their sudden appearance underscores the fact that some groups still see the armed option as a viable vehicle for social change in Mexico.

There have been many articles about the EPR all around the world.  Even though they are not as well known as the Zapatista movement, they have still made an impact.  One of the articles about the Popular Revolutionary Army's actions was written in the Washington Post and can be found on line at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/aug/28/mexico5.htm
 

 
 
 
 

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