Mexico pledges to bring peace to Chiapas

A Zapatista rebel

March 1, 1998
Web posted at: 10:56 p.m. EST (0356 GMT)

MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- The Mexican government promised on Sunday to revisit a peace proposal with leftist rebels that has languished for more than a year.

Mexico's president is summoning a 12-member commission that negotiated with the rebels in the violence-torn southern Chiapas state to revise the peace agreement, Interior Secretary Francisco Labastida Ochoa said Sunday.

The government will seek congressional backing for the proposal, Labastida said. He promised "full compliance" with the peace agreement.

"We Mexicans want peace, tranquility and democracy and development with justice," Labastida said in a nationwide television speech outlining the government's new proposal.

The agreement was signed by both sides in 1996 but never implemented by the Mexican government. The agreement would provide Indians with partial autonomy and measures to protect their culture.

But President Ernesto Zedillo's administration has balked at what it has called loose wording in the accords that could lead to segregating Indians from other Mexicans.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army has refused to return to the negotiating table until the government implements the accords.

The president's objections will be considered when the commission meets to revise the accords, Labastida said.

In his speech, Labastida echoed the language of the Zapatistas themselves.

"Enough of obstructing efforts to overcome marginalization and poverty suffered by the majority of Indians in this country," he said. "Enough of there being so much poverty in Chiapas."

The new proposal came a day after the governor of Chiapas announced a separate peace initiative for Chiapas state. Chiapas Gov. Roberto Albores Guillen said he would begin talks with leftist rebels and disarm paramilitary death squads.

The Zapatistas launched a short-lived rebellion on January 1, 1994, in hopes of improving conditions for Mexico's Indians and peasants. The group has not said whether it would accept a revised agreement.

Pressure has increased to find a solution to the situation since December 1997, when 45 Zapatista peasants were massacred by paramilitary gunmen.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Newsmaker Profiles:

• Ernesto Zedillo - Mexican President

Related stories:

• Mexican police open fire on massacre protesters, 1 dead - January 13, 1998
• Zapatista supporters protest in Mexico City - January 5, 1998
• Mexican mayor charged with organizing massacre - December 28, 1997
• Critics denounce government explanation for Mexican massacre - Dec. 27, 1997
• Possible suspects questioned about Chiapas massacre - December 24, 1997

Related sites:

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• The Mexican Government
• Understanding Chiapas
• Understanding The Chiapas Revolt In Mexico
• Chiapas Solidarity Page

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