The Intercontinental Encuentros (Encounters) for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism emerged from the Zapatista movement's engagement with individuals and social movements around the world following the Zapatista uprising. In January of 1996, Subcomandante Marcos, a Zapatista leader and spokesperson, issued a communiqué inviting social movements from around the globe to hold continental meetings in preparation for an "Intercontinental Encuentro for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism" to be held from 27 July to 3 August 1996 in Zapatista territory in Chiapas, Mexico. More than 3,000 grassroots activists from over forty countries attended the first Encuentro to discuss the dynamics of, and alternatives to, neo-liberal capitalist globalization. The most significant outcome of the first Encuentro, aside from bringing such a diversity of activists together, was the commitment on the part of the participants to create an intercontinental network of resistance and communication, and to hold a second Encuentro a year later in Europe.
The second Encuentro, held in Spain, drew more than 3,000 activists from fifty countries and was directed toward building the networks of communication and resistance which emerged from the first Encuentro. It was at this meeting that the inspiration for the global anti-capitalist coordinating network of Peoples' Global Action was sparked.