The Liberation Army of the South (, ELS) was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution from 1911 to 1920. however, the completion of the Interoceanic Railway between Mexico City and Veracruz in 1891 led to significant change in the local economy. It became profitable to produce sugar for export, and these new haciendas came in conflict over land, labor, and water with the indigenous villages.
Deprived of their means of subsistence, the population of Morelos was suffering from famine and general impoverishment by the turn of the century. Thousands had become wage laborers on the haciendas or left the state entirely to seek work elsewhere. with Torres Burgos being appointed commanding officer; however, there was essentially no coordination with Pascual Orozco's forces in the north. They saw great early success in recruiting from among the desperate population, amassing a force of around 5,000. Madero's reluctance to take action on land reform made Zapata reluctant, but he had little choice but to comply. Tensions flared when the hacendado governor attempted to block Zapata from taking up his promised position as commander of the local police. In July, news of a plot to assassinate Madero in the neighboring state of Puebla alarmed Zapata, and he rapidly re-mobilized to march to the politician's defense. Although the march was called off, Zapata and the other rebel commanders were now much more wary of laying down their arms. De la Barra ordered General Huerta to force Zapata to surrender unconditionally. Huerta quickly took over the state, and civil law was suspended in August. The Zapatistas thus played a remarkably similar role in the fight against Huerta as they had in the fight against Diaz, tying down Federal soldiers in the south while a rebel army marched down from the north. As the Huerta regime began to collapse, Zapata advanced. His forces took Chilpancingo in mid-March 1914; he followed this soon afterward with the capture of Acapulco, Iguala, Taxco, and Buenavista de Cuellar. Next he confronted the federal garrisons in Morelos, the majority of which defected to him with their weapons. Finally he moved against Mexico City itself.
Convention and civil war, 1914–1917
thumb|right|250px|The Zapatistas briefly occupied [[Mexico City at the start of the civil war against Carranza. There were significant cultural clashes between the rural villagers and residents of the capital.]]
Rather than First Chief Carranza being named president of Mexico at the convention, General Eulalio Gutiérrez was chosen for a term of 20 days. The convention declared Carranza in rebellion against it. Civil war resumed, this time between revolutionary armies that had fought in a united cause to oust Huerta in 1913–14. Although during the Convention Constitutionalist General Álvaro Obregón had attempted to be a moderating force and had been the one to convey the convention's call for Carranza to resign, when the convention forces declared Carranza in rebellion against it, Obregón supported Carranza rather than Villa and Zapata. In 1914, Zapata met at the head of his army with Pancho Villa and his forces at Mexico City to determine the course of the revolution. In practice, the alliance between Villa and Zapata as the Army of the Convention did not continue to function when the two parted. The Zapatistas fortified themselves and focused on creating the Morelos Commune, rather than venturing out to attack the Constitutionalists.
Zapata's assassination and decline
thumb|left|250px|After the death of Zapata, [[Gildardo Magaña played a crucial role in negotiating a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Morelos.]]
Eliminating Zapata was a top priority for President Carranza. Carranza was unwilling to compromise with domestic foes and wanted to demonstrate to Mexican elites and to American interests that Carranza was the "only viable alternative to both anarchy and radicalism." In mid-March 1919, General Pablo González ordered his subordinate Jesús Guajardo to begin operations against the Zapatistas in the mountains around Huautla. Zapata was deceived into believing that Guajardo planned to defect, and agreed to a final meeting on 10 April 1919. When Zapata arrived at the Hacienda de San Juan, in Chinameca, Ayala, Guajardo's men riddled him with bullets. His body was photographed and his death widely publicized in an attempt to demoralize the Zapatistas.
thumb|right|Rebel Armies between 1916 and 1920, after the defeat of Villa
Although Zapata's assassination weakened the Liberation Army of the South, they continued the fight against Carranza. For Carranza the death of Zapata was the removal of an ongoing threat, for many Zapata's assassination undermined "worker and peasant support for Carranza and [Pablo] González." In spite of González's attempts to sully the name of Zapata and the Plan de Ayala during his 1920 campaign for the presidency, the people of Morelos continued to support Zapatista generals, providing them with weapons, supplies and protection. Carranza was wary of the threat of a U.S. intervention, and Zapatista generals decided to take a conciliatory approach. Bands of Zapatistas started surrendering in exchange for amnesties, and many Zapatista generals went on to become local authorities, such as Fortino Ayaquica who became municipal president of Tochimilco.
As Venustiano Carranza moved to curb his former allies and now rivals in 1920 to impose a civilian, Ignacio Bonillas, as his successor in the presidency, Obregón sought to align himself with the Zapatista movement against that of Carranza. Genovevo de la O and Magaña supported him in the coup by former Constitutionalists, fighting in Morelos against Carranza and helping prompt Carranza to flee Mexico City toward Veracruz in May 1920. Obregón and Genovevo de la O then entered Mexico City "in triumph". The Zapatistas were given important posts in the interim government of Adolfo de la Huerta and the administration of Álvaro Obregón, following his election to the presidency after the coup. The Zapatistas had almost total control of the state of Morelos, where they carried out a program of agrarian reform and land redistribution based on the provisions of the Plan de Ayala and with the support of the government.
thumb|right|250px|The Zapatistas have featured prominently in [[Mexican muralism|murals produced about the revolution, including The History of Mexico by Diego Rivera]]
See also
- División del Norte
- List of peasant revolts
- Matlatzinca people
- Reform War