Patrick Leahy: “3 weeks ago, a group of armed rebels in the state of Guerrero, Mexico marched down from the mountains and into the city…”

“3 weeks ago, a group of armed rebels in the state of Guerrero, Mexico marched down from the mountains and into the city of Coyuca de Benitez, not far from the resort town of Acapulco. Then, last week, several armed men attacked a Mexican army vehicle, killing one civilian in the crossfire. They were arrested, and the Mexican army is scouring Guerrero's countryside looking for other members of the insurgent group, known as the ``Popular Revolutionary Army,'' in an attempt to prevent future outbreaks of violence in the region. These are just the most recent of several demonstrations of civil unrest in Mexico since the 1994 uprising of the ``Zapatista National Liberation Army'' in Chiapas. In states like Tabasco, Puebla, and San Luis Potosi, indigenous people are increasingly staging protests, and resorting to violence, to expose the inequity and racism of which they have been victims for generations. Unfortunately, while the Mexican Government has reportedly tripled its assistance to Chiapas in the 2 years since the Zapatista uprising, those efforts have produced little in the way of real economic and social change. The disparities that exist between Chiapas and the rest of Mexico are still as appalling as they were 2 years ago. While President Zedillo has recognized that poverty and the lack of access to justice among indigenous populations are matters which must be addressed, his administration has taken few effective steps to do so.”