Samuel Ruiz García, a highly respected Mexican Roman Catholic prelate, dedicated a significant portion of his life to serving as the bishop of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, from 1959 to 1999. During his extensive tenure, Ruiz garnered widespread acclaim for his instrumental role as a mediator in the midst of the tumultuous conflict between the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI),a Mexican political party that had maintained a dominant hold on the country's political landscape for over seven decades.
The policies of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, commonly referred to as the PRI, frequently had a disproportionate effect on the indigenous populations residing in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, further exacerbating the already precarious and challenging circumstances they faced. This phenomenon was particularly noteworthy in the context of the indigenous populations of Chiapas, who were already struggling to survive and thrive in a region characterized by widespread poverty, marginalization, and limited access to essential resources and opportunities.
