MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- From the sandy beaches of Acapulco to the
                  crowded plazas of Mexico City, an unusual referendum on Indian rights was
                  held Sunday in Mexico -- sponsored not by the government but by leftist
                  Zapatista rebels who took up arms five years ago in the southern state of
                  Chiapas.

                  Any Mexican over age 12 was allowed to vote, either in person or over the
                  Internet. About 5,000 Zapatista supporters, wearing their trademark ski
                  masks, set up voting tables at locations nationwide. For some, it was their
                  first trip ever out of the jungles of impoverished Chiapas.

                  "We are not calling for a military or a violent protest," said Subcomandante
                  Marcos, leader of the Zapatistas, in a videotaped message issued in the days
                  leading up to the vote. "What we seek instead is a peaceful demonstration
                  which consists simply of expressing one's ideas."

                  Government lets ballot go forward

                  The government labeled the referendum a "ruse" but let it go forward on the
                  condition that the Zapatistas remained unarmed. Results were expected late
                  Sunday or early Monday.

                  Voters received a ballot with several questions: Should indigenous people
                  share in Mexico's wealth? Should they enjoy special constitutional rights
                  negotiated by the Zapatistas in peace talks that later broke down? And
                  should Chiapas be demilitarized while peace talks continue?

                   The results were a foregone conclusion. Only Mexicans sympathetic to the
                   Zapatistas were expected to participate, and the wording of the questions
                   made opposition unlikely.

                  Still, the rebels hope the results will put pressure on the government to
                  address the Zapatistas' demands for better conditions for Indians in Chiapas.

                  "We're not used to being asked our opinion about important national affairs,"
                  said Eugenia Gutierrez, 34, a pro-Zapatista activist. "The government never
                  asks for the people's opinion. They don't care about their opinion. There is
                  no forum for a plebiscite or referendum in the Mexican constitution."

                  Chiapas peace talks at stalemate

                  The Zapatistas staged a 10-day uprising in 1994 in Chiapas in the name of
                  greater rights for indigenous people. Peace talks have been at a stalemate
                  since a partial accord was signed in 1996.

                  The Zapatista army lacks the military punch to pose a serious threat. Its
                  several hundred cadres are badly outnumbered by the Mexican army, which
                  surrounds them while a cease-fire holds.

                  Though the conflict with the army has been silent for several years, hundreds
                  of people in Chiapas have died in related political violence, often pitting
                  Zapatista supporters against forces aligned with Mexico's ruling Institutional
                  Revolutionary Party.

                  Many participants in Sunday's referendum criticized the government for not
                  doing more to resolve the conflict.

                  "If millions of people turn out to support the indigenous people against
                  racism and militarization, the government must heed the popular demand,"
                  said Candido Gutierrez, 66, after voting in downtown Mexico City. "We
                  can't continue treating Indians like they did 500 years ago."

                  To counter rebel publicity, the government bombarded the airwaves with
                  advertisements promoting its social spending in Chiapas and its willingness to
                  settle the dispute with dialogue.

                           The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.