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The "El Zapotal" is a Natural Protected Area (NPA) that contains one of the last fragments of the Sub-evergreen Medium Rainforest of the Central Valley in Chiapas; it is home to a different species of native flora and fauna native. We conduct a spatio-temporal study of vegetation and land use change, analyzing Landsat satellite images from 1980, 2000 and 2020. Sites with evidence of timber extraction, areas susceptible to fires, and clandestine entries were recorded. According to the Mann-Whitney U analysis, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the land cover of any of the four vegetation and land use classes, inside and outside the NPA over the past 40 years. However, the Medium Sub-evergreen Forest and Acahual presented a negative rate of change, inside and outside "El Zapotal". In contrast the the Urban Land showed a positive rate of change in the vicinity of the NPA, an alarm signal about the process of isolation of the ANP with respect to other areas of protection of ecosystems, as well as areas covered by native vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]