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War looming in Chiapas: Mexico rebel leader
Zapatista rebel leader Marcos warned of possible coming war in Mexico's impoverished southern state of Chiapas, and announced his departure from public life. "War like fear also has a smell, and now its fetid odor is starting to permeate our land," Marcos told a meeting of social groups here, 14 years after he launched a violent peasant uprising. Marcos said the "supposedly leftist" local and state administrations in Chiapas were to blame for rising tensions, and that the Democratic Revolution Party-dominated Chiapas government was intent on destroying the autonomous communities the Zapatistas have helped set up. He said his Zapatista Army of National Liberation for two years has been trying to set itself up as a political movement in all Mexico, but that it was ready once again to stand alone and defend itself from attack. Wearing his traditional black ski mask, Marcos announced he would disappear from public "for some time." The Zapatista movement rose up in arms in the Chiapas on January 1, 1994, launching an insurrection that left 150 people dead before a ceasefire was declared 12 days later. Years of talks between the Zapatistas and the government have resulted in increased benefits for indigenous Maya people in the region, though poverty remains endemic. Posted by: Fred 2007-12-18 |
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