Subcommander Marcos, Welcomed by Mexican President
A convoy of Zapatista rebels has reached the suburbs of the Mexican capital and are preparing to enter the city. They were involved in a long march through the country, designed to lobby support for a bill of rights for Mexico's indigenous population. The march to Mexico City began in the southern state of Chiapas, and now there are plans to hold a mass rally in the capital this weekend. The Mexican President, Vincente Fox, said he wanted to see peace and has welcomed the Zapatista leader of the march.
On Friday, President Fox invited Subcommander Marcos for a chat but warned the two men would pay dearly if they failed to heed calls for lasting peace in the southern state of Chiapas. Marcos, who launched an armed uprising in the name of Mexico's disinherited Indian minority in January 1994, was due to arrive in the capital on Sunday with 23 Zapatista rebel leaders to lobby lawmakers to pass a bill giving indigenous communities greater freedom in running their affairs.
The masked rebel leader's popularity has soared as his caravan of Zapatista leaders and sympathisers has emerged from a jungle stronghold in Chiapas and travelled across the country over the past two weeks on the way to the capital. But Mexicans from all backgrounds are anxious to see an end to the conflict. Although the Zapatistas have not engaged in fighting for seven years, they have not formally laid down their arms either.
On Friday, Marcos pledged to continue the political struggle until the indigenous rights bill was enacted. "They think we're a fad that will pass and that you'll go back to your house and job when we leave, but let it be clear that we are not leaving here until there is constitutional recognition of indigenous rights and culture," Marcos told supporters in San Pablo Oztotepec on Mexico City's outskirts.
