Word: zapatistas
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...Mexican political figure and you've nearly filled Mexico City's mammoth central plaza, you've done a good day's work. The mostly young crowd that gathered on the Zocalo to greet Subcomandante Marcos and his fellow Zapatista Army commanders on Sunday took up a good 85 percent of the plaza. Crowd estimates were wildly inconsistent, but the order of magnitude is tens of thousands of people...
After directly addressing the Zapatista rebels in his inaugural speech, Fox has taken concrete steps to reduce the tension in Chiapas. Fox declared that his actions will speak for themselves, and he has lived up to that pledge. He has eliminated military roadblocks, ordered soldiers to return to their barracks and offered amnesty to some Zapatista prisoners. Fox has also appointed a new official, highly respected by the Zapatistas, to head the negotiations with the rebels...
While the Zapatista rebels have utopian economic goals, they have always maintained that they are seeking a stable democratic political system. The rise of Fox and his National Action Party signals the transition to democracy for which they have been waiting. Fox has taken the first steps towards repairing the breach that has rent the country. If both sides can negotiate on reasonable terms, there is a strong possibility that their differences can be resolved, resulting in tranquility and prosperity for Chiapas...
...Well, ever since he won the election, Fox's people have been sending out feelers to the Zapatistas about the prospects for resolving the conflict in Chiapas. And remember, Subcomandante Marcos is the front man and voice of the movement, but the EZLN [Emiliano Zapata Front for National Liberation] is run by a council of Mayan tribal chieftains. Since Fox sent these feelers out, most of the other people on the Zapatista council have been willing to give the new president a chance. In fact there was a break within the ranks of the EZLN on this question...
...coming out and laying down conditions for a meeting that can easily be met by the government, such as the release of some pro-Zapatista prisoners and the gradual withdrawal of armed forces from Chiapas, it seems likely that he will indeed go ahead and meet Fox in February, and this will be a historic moment. Whether he takes his ski mask off or not, we'll have to wait...