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as well as Tuxtla Guitérrez, the state capital. The rebels’ demands were for land,
democratic reforms, health care, and education. The rebellion continued for
more than a decade, although new legislation introduced by President Vicente
Fox in 2003 resolved some of the rebels problems. Since then, the violence has
diminished, although the Zapatistas continue to rule over some communities in
rural areas of Chiapas.
Campeche
If you are going to continue your travels in Mexico, now you must leave the
Pacific coast and instead turn northeast to enter the state of Campeche.
Campeche’s coastline is to the northwest, on the Gulf of Mexico. The economy of
Campeche depends on the oil industry, since the Bay of Campeche contains
many of Mexico’s offshore oil fields.
Oil is not the state’s only industry, though. About 14 percent of the region’s
economy comes from wood and wood products, such as furniture.
There is beautiful scenery
throughout mountainous
Chiapas, including the steep
walls of the Sumidero Canyon
in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
The States of Mexico
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