Zapotec Indian people, who have been fighting for centuries to keep their communal property and cultural identity, formed the Coalition of Isthmus Workers, Farmers and Students (COCEI) in Juchit�n in 1974. In 1981 it won the municipal elections against the longtime ruling party (PRI) and established a program favoring the poor and dispossessed. Two years later, with military and police help, the PRI restored its control.
