Press split on Zapatista march

Subcomandate Marcos: Bold move

Most Mexican newspapers have welcomed the march by Zapatista guerrilla leaders from their jungle stronghold in the southern state of Chiapas to Mexico City, aimed at publicising their cause.

However, the integrity of Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos has been called into question in one daily, while another has pointed the finger of insincerity at the country's president, Vicente Fox.

Marcos is playing with the stability of the country

Adrian Trejo in El Economista

Writing in the financial daily El Economista, Adrian Trejo accuses Subcomandante Marcos of using the march as a stunt to reawaken the interest of the international community in the Zapatistas, rather than as a genuine effort to achieve peace.

Mr Marcos "planned his route with the intention of contaminating as much territory as possible," says Mr Trejo. "The hooded man has won the match against the federal government, allowing him the luxury of telling lies and accusing officials in order to cause discord within the Fox camp".

"Marcos is playing with the stability of the country," he adds.

A subtle way of distorting the real meaning of the march

El Universal

In contrast, a major centre-right daily, El Universal, is in no doubt that President Fox is seeking to distort the meaning of the march, placing the emphasis on peace rather than vital socio-economic reform.

Distortion

The daily says almost half of Mexico's Indians are illiterate, living in "profound misery, enormous injustice and great suffering".

"It is useful to remember that the origins of this conflict lie in the ominous reality of the Indian peoples. The poverty in Chiapas is such that one could ask why there was no armed uprising before."

President Fox's statement that it is a "march for peace", El Universal says, "is a subtle way of distorting the real meaning of the march".

Chiapas: Lack of freedom

"The duty and responsibility to live with dignity is more important, however much Mexicans desire to live in peace. Signing a peace accord without resolving the problem of the misery in which the people live would be like signing an unconditional surrender."

El Universal warned there was a "monumental" campaign under way by the government, television stations and major companies "to conjure away Mexico's historic obligation towards the Indians".

Hope

The left-wingLa Jornada welcomed the march, saying it would have been impossible before President Fox took power in December.

A welcome and promising start

La Jornada

"The march also indicates the degree of support and understanding of many social sectors... the Zapatistas are marching with the knowledge they have right, justice and political morality on their side," La Jornada said.

"The mere possibility of dialogue, that Congress hears directly from the mouths of the Indians their legitimate aspirations and the testimony of their oppression, gives rise to the opportunity to transform the unjust face of Mexico."

However, La Jornada warned that the road to lasting peace was "much longer than that between Chiapas and the Federal District [Mexico City]. Still, it is a welcome and promising start".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.