Protest near Agua Azul

During the long bus ride back to Merida, we were stopped behind a long line of sitting cars just outside of Agua Azul. Our driver got out and asked a few people what was going on. Turns out there was a political demonstration going on and the streets were blocked off. Outside of the bus, we could hear yelling from a ways away. Of course, we all wanted to go watch but our director said if foreigners showed up to a protest like this, it would likely mean immediate deportation. Bummer. 

< All of the cars lined up behind us.

We were able to see a little bit of what was going on after traffic started moving again. As we passed through the village where the protest was going on, we looked up to see hundreds of people on a hill about 50 feet above us- right fist in the air, left at their waist, most wearing red bandannas around their necks with huge banners, just standing silently. The contrast between them and the police on the other side of the road was pretty stark. The police looked almost silly in their uniforms and bullet-proof vests, not to mention carrying huge guns, next to the people in their sandals and worn-out jeans. 

I know a little about the Chiapas situation and the Zapatista movement but I'm not going to pretend to have a thorough understanding of the situation. I do know that the government has been continually accused (quite fairly, from my perspective) of mistreating the indigenous Mexicans for over a century. 

Wish I knew more about exactly what happened there, but at least we got to see a bit of it.