Mexico's Zapatistas prepare for national plebiscite

CNN March 12, 1999 Mexico's Zapatistas prepare for national plebiscite
                  OVENTIC, Mexico (Reuters) -- Some 1,000 masked representatives of
                  Mexico's Zapatista rebel movement set off on a nationwide mission on
                  Friday to gauge public support for Indian rights, the central issue of the
                  Zapatistas's five-year armed uprising.

                  The rebels are planning a plebiscite on March 21, when Mexicans can
                  choose to participate in a nonbinding election testing their views on how
                  much independence to grant the country's estimated 10 million Indians.

                  The 1,000, who boarded 25 buses, departed this rebel stronghold in the
                  mountainous jungles of southernmost Chiapas state and will be joined by
                  other Chiapas Indians and rebel supporters throughout the country in
                  promoting and running the so-called "consultation."

The government immediately wrote off the election as a "ruse" and a
publicity stunt.

                  The Zapatistas shocked the world when they launched an armed uprising in
                  Chiapas on Jan. 1, 1994, the same day that Mexico entered into the North
                  American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and
                  Canada.

About 150 people died in 10 days of combat before a ceasefire was called
and peace talks began.

                  But talks broke down two years ago over the issue of Indian rights, with the
                  government claiming the Zapatistas were demanding virtual succession from
                  the country and the Zapatistas accusing the government of racism.

                  In the meantime, hundreds more people have died in related political
                  violence in Chiapas, which is sharply divided between pro-Zapatista and
                  pro-government camps.

                  Led by Subcommander Marcos, known for his trademark ski mask and
                  tobacco pipe, an unknown number of Zapatista guerrillas remain holed up in
                  the jungles of Chiapas, surrounded by the army as the ceasefire holds.

                  The government approved of the March 21 vote, which would be held in all
                  31 states plus Mexico City, but Interior Minister Francisco Labastida on
                  Thursday labeled it a "ruse."

                  "I already know what the result of this type of absurd poll will be," Labastida
                  told reporters. "They'll ask questions like, 'Would you rather be rich or
                  poor? Happy or unhappy?' It is a ruse."