Zapata Proclaims the Plan of Ayala: Land to Those Who Work It

On November 28, 1911, revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata formally issued the Plan of Ayala, named for the town of Ayala in the southern state of Morelos. Written in collaboration with local schoolteacher Otilio Montaño Sánchez, the manifesto broke directly with Mexico's newly elected president, Francisco Madero. Only three weeks had passed since Madero assumed the presidency, but rural leaders in the south believed he had already abandoned the core agrarian promises that initially brought armed factions to his side against the long rule of Porfirio Díaz.

The rift between the two leaders had widened earlier that summer. In June 1911, Madero met with Zapata and insisted that the southern insurgent forces lay down their arms before any talks on agrarian reform could proceed. Zapata began to disarm but stopped when federal troops moved against his forces, and he rejected offers that fell short of land reform. Relations deteriorated rapidly after Madero took office on November 6 while Zapata's forces remained under arms. In response, Zapata and Montaño prepared their own political manifesto to define the southern movement's terms.