Mexico - The Freedom Fighters of Tomorrow

Two more reports on the opening day of the Zapatistas' "Other Campaign" across Mexico are published in today's Narco News Bulletin. First, Julie Webb-Pullman writes about what it felt like to be among the crowd January 1 in San Crisóbal de las Casas, Mexico:

"Young boys, 13 or 14 years old, boys whose masks gave them the courage to josh and jive with me, puffing cigarette smoke through their masks like Marcos, getting me to take pictures of them, then teasing each other when they saw the shots. Teenagers like anywhere, sneaking a cigarette, playing the fool, flirting – but with the added and certain knowledge that they are the freedom fighters of tomorrow."

http://www.narconews.com/otroperiodismo/

Giovanni Proiettis reports on what the various Zapatista comandantes and Subcomandante Marcos had to say after they arrived in San Cristóbal. He also writes of the confusion the "Other Campaign" has generated in Mexican political circles:

"The Vicente Fox administration and the country's three main political parties, as well as the Catholic Church hierarchy, have given their blessing (how sincerely is unknown) to this new step for the Zapatistas that, like it or not, will end up interfering with the 2006 electoral campaigns. Certainly the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party), the old dinosaur from which Fox and the PAN (National Action Party) wrenched the presidency after 70 years in power, believes that the Subcomandante's tour will put some wind in its sails, considering Marcos' declared aversion to the PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution) candidate. 'The left hand of the Right' is one of the labels Marcos has used to stigmatize Mexico City Governor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is the favorite candidate in current polls.

"This position on the part of the Zapatistas, though understandable if one considers the PRD's betrayal on the Indigenous Law of 2001, has created a certain a certain discomfort among the Left, which feels divided by such radical positions. In reality, though, many citizens see no contradiction in supporting the Zapatistas and the indigenous cause but also voting for López Obrador next July, at least as a way to hold back the devastating neoliberal policies of the PRI and the PAN.

Read both reports and all the latest from the Amado Avedaño Figueroa Brigade of authentic journalists at this webpage:

http://www.narconews.com/otroperiodismo/

From somewhere in a country called América,

Dan Feder
Managing Editor
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com

© Scoop Media