480,000  Tzeltal, 300,000 Tzotziles, 120,00 Choles, 90,000 Zoques, and 70,000 Tojolabales indigenous Indians inhabit Chiapas. They are the descendants of the Mayan civilizations, yet half are illiterate, up to 80% suffer from malnutrition, and they have an average life expectancy of 44 years.

Below is a map of Chiapas in closer detail.  Tuxtla Gutierrez is the state capital. San Cristobal de Las Casas is one of the state's major towns,which provided the focal point for the 1994 uprising.  The red lines indicate the major highways running through the state, while the blue line shows the Guatemalan border.

"In Chiapas, there are 7 hotel rooms for every 1,000 tourists, while there are only 0.3 hospital beds per 1,000 Chiapaneco citizens." 

If you find this kind of statistic depressing, then look on further through the site, and hopefully you'll be inspired by what is happening in Chiapas.  The water projects, which are being run between outside groups and the indigenous communities, are one of many intiatives which are making a serious and positive impact on the lives of some of Mexico's poorest.  This site is intended to provide a brief overview of these projects.  We also hope that through the links page,this site can act as a gateway to other, slicker, better designed, and more informative sites about the Zapatistas and the situation in Chiapas.

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