The western portion of the municipality is in the Chiapas Highlands. The Lacandon Forest covers the central and eastern foothills and lowlands. Protected areas in the municipality include Montes Azules and Nahá–Metzabok biosphere reserves.
History
Ocosingo was given city status on 31 July 1979.[3]
Ocosingo rose to national prominence during the Zapatista uprising of 1994. It was occupied by the EZLN along with several other towns in Chiapas (including San Cristóbal). The EZLN retreated from most towns before the arrival of the Mexican army but not so in Ocosingo. Thus, the town saw several days of intense fighting, leaving dozens of rebels, soldiers and civilians dead.[citation needed]
Statue of a Maya woman at the central roundabout in OcosingoInner view of the church in Ocosingo
The body of a recently graduated doctor, Mariana Sánchez Dávalos, 24, was found in Nueva Palestina, Ocosingo, on January 29, 2021. Two months earlier she had denounced a sexual attack that had not been followed up by the state prosecutor (FGE).[4] The lack of civil authority in the area made her job "high risk". Her death was classified a suicide, despite evidence of violence and the fact that she had been choked.[5] Doctors and medical students throughout the state demanded an investigation, and #JusticiaparaMariana went viral on social media.[6] Hundreds, mostly women, marched in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, San Cristóbal de las Casas, and Tapachula on January 31 to demand justice.[7] On February 1, Olga Sánchez Cordero, Secretary of the Interior (SEGOB), said that Sánchez Dávalos′s death would be investigated as a femicide.[8] Mariana′s body was cremated on February 2 without the family′s authorization, impeding a complete investigation into her death.[9] The director of the health center where Mariana worked was arrested on February 6 for her possible participation in the case.[10]
