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 Juchitán 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.
