Up in the rural mountains of the southern state of Chiapas, this little village has a sign next to the highway proclaiming it a "Zapatista rebel autonomous municipality". Since their armed uprising in 1994, the Zapatistas have been trying to establish communities throughout Chiapas that are autonomous from the Mexican government - they have their own police, they don't have government schools or services, and they don't pay taxes. Lately the Mexican government has been leaving them alone.
In the same village, the mural on this autonomous school depicts masked and armed Zapatista rebels, particularly a character named sub-Comandant Pedro, standing watch over the villagers. Again, this was right next to the highway. (as always, just click on the photo for a better, zoomed-in look)
For some reason, there is a perplexingly large quantity of highway signs in Mexico which simply state "Don't Mistreat the Signs". Rob say, "some rules were made to be broken".Continue into the central Mexican highlands
