![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: World: Americas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]()
|
![]() |
Sunday, 11 March, 2001, 23:45 GMT
Rebels ride into Mexico City
![]() Thousands greeted the rebels into the heart of Mexico City
Mexico's Zapatista guerrillas have arrived in triumph in the heart of the capital, where a crowd of more than 100,000 welcomed them to the main square, the Zocalo.
In a speech packed with poetry, Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos called on the government to recognise the country's indigenous population, and to dress itself in the colours of the earth, not money.
Crowds lined the streets chanting "Marcos, Marcos" and showered the rebels riding on a flat-bed truck with flowers and confetti. Mexican President Vicente Fox has welcomed the Zapatistas, saying their arrival was the start of a dialogue that would lead to peace.
"The hour of the Indian has come," he said. "We are here as rebels who cry out: democracy, justice, liberty."
Click here for a map of the Zapatista route across Mexico
They are the first rebel group to openly ride into the capital since revolutionary leaders Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, the group's namesake, did it in 1914.
The rebels are due to meet a congressional peace commission on Monday. Our correspondent in Mexico City, Peter Greste says while the congress is divided and hostile to the rebels, the president backs their cause and the government will find it hard to ignore the public display of support. The rebel tour has passed through 12 Mexican states since 24 February. Rebel demands The Zapatistas launched their uprising in the southern state of Chiapas seven years ago. They want the government to withdraw some troops from Chiapas, to release prisoners and to amend the constitution to guarantee the rights of indigenous people.
President Fox has also offered to meet Subcomandante Marcos at his presidential palace but the rebels have not yet responded to the invitation. He said the fact that the march had taken place at all was proof that Mexican politics had been transformed since his electoral defeat of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in December last year. Correspondents say previous talks have stumbled on the government's claim that the rebels' demands could lead to political instability in Mexico.
|
![]() |
See also:
![]() Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Americas stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Americas stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Americas stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |