Today the rebellion remains a work in progress. Having established complete political and economic autonomy, the Zapatistas govern and police their own communities across five regions of Chiapas. Relations with the state remain strained, and Zapatistas complain of regular harassment by the military and paramilitary forces that surround their territory.
Although wary of outsiders and especially the media, the Zapatistas sometimes allow sympathisers and even curious tourists to visit Oventic, a tranquil community in the pine-clad highlands. If allowed entrance by the masked but unarmed guards, visitors may be allowed to speak with the governing council, buy local produce and view a school where children are taught in both Spanish and their native Tzotzil language. Guests who become ill are cared for at the Zapatista-run clinic.
Life in Oventic may appear idyllic, but a visit to nearby Magdalena de la Paz, whose inhabitants live on a basic diet of beans and tortillas, shows poverty remains a real problem. The Zapatistas reject all government handouts, but rely on aid from sympathisers and are vulnerable to "the economic pressures that push the poor from all over Mexico into migrating to the cities", said John Holloway, a professor of sociology at the Autonomous University of Puebla.
With Marcos having kept a low profile in recent years, speculation has mounted that the Zapatistas are a spent force. Mexican journalist Jose Gil Olmos told Al Jazeera they have "stagnated" and "fallen into a natural decline".
Their most recent initiatives, such as a 2006 campaign to unite disaffected groups across the country, "have not had the same impact, at least in Mexico, because the national agenda has changed and there are a much wider number of concerns now", Olmos said. With the drug war and an underperforming economy, the primary concerns of most Mexicans, "the Zapatistas are no longer a priority", he added.
But the Zapatistas remain popular at the local level, as was demonstrated in December 2012, when some 40,000 supporters marched in silence across Chiapas. Supporters say the movement has restored a sense of pride in the area, saying the Zapatistas have empowered women by passing a law prohibiting forced marriage or any form of sexual discrimination, and have kept their communities free from violence and addiction by outlawing drugs and alcohol.