This thesis examines the three-decade long evolution of the political proposal of the Zapatista movement pertaining to national liberation, civil society and autonomy articulated through its political culture of opposition and creation, Zapatismo. Drawing upon the communiques, interviews, and declarations of the movement, I argue that the movement's political proposal pertaining to national liberation suggests an alternative modernity until 2001 seeking to transform the modern state-form instead of calling to detach from it as often claimed. Moreover, I argue the failure of the movement in mobilizing Mexican civil society lies in its conceptualization of nation and dignity as horizontal and radically inclusive unifiers among various struggles. Such radical inclusiveness and horizontalism cannot be observed until the 2003 reorganization of the Zapatista bases in the conceptualization of autonomy, which up to date stands to be the most concrete achievement of the movement. Instead, I claim autonomy in Zapatismo acknowledges the need for "temporary hegemonic mediations," a degree of leadership, which defined the framework in which the building of another world should take place. I conclude with the implications of the findings on the increasing horizontalist and autonomist aspirations in global uprisings since 2011.