One of the less explored facets of the ZapatistaNational Liberation Army's (EZLN) struggle with theMexican federal government is how indigenous landrights have come into conflict with environmentalism. The EZLN presents itself as a champion of the rightsof all indigenous people in Mexico. Yet the Mayanfarmers that support it have come into conflict withthe Lacandón Maya, supported by the Mexicangovernment, over access to land in the Montes AzulesBiosphere Reserve, located in the Lacandón Jungle. This apparent contradiction between this politicalreality and the EZLN's positions is product of theZapatista discourses that establish indigenous peopleas actors seeking local control in opposition to atechnocratic state, which also places it inopposition to environmental group ConservationInternational which also portrays itself asprotecting the interests of indigenous populationswhile carrying conservation activities. Drawing fromEZLN texts, statements made by settlers, the Mexicangovernment, and Conservation International this textlooks at how political groupings define ethnicidentity and how this defines the political stancestaken in the conflict.