Mexico's Chiapas policy decried by Fox 
	Fri, 4 Feb 2000 08:12:22 -0500


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Mexico's Chiapas policy decried by Fox 
08:50 p.m Jan 24, 2000 Eastern 

By Lorraine Orlandi 

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Strife in Chiapas, where
Indian rebels took up arms six years ago to demand their rights, proves
that 70 years of single-party rule has left Mexico rife with injustice,
opposition presidential candidate Vicente Fox believes.

``Chiapas is the clearest example of injustice, of human rights
violations, of the crisis of a regime that cannot fulfil its
obligations,'' Fox said during a campaign swing in the state that ended on
Monday. ``Chiapas is irrefutable proof of the need for change throughout
the country.''

Fox, an underdog whose sheer moxie gained him early campaign momentum,
charged the incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with
``burying its head'' instead of addressing Chiapas' fundamental problems
of poverty and discrimination against a largely indigenous population.

``This government does not have the moral capacity to negotiate peace,''
he said.

Fox's first priority would be to meet face to face with Zapatista rebel
leader Subcommander Marcos to restart stalled peace talks, he told Reuters
on the campaign trail on Sunday and Monday. The candidate said he had made
repeated but unsuccessful requests to reach the storied rebel leader.

Reduction of a military presence at least 40,000 troops strong, which has
been associated with human rights violations, would be one goal of
negotiations, Fox said.

``We need to move from military logic to political logic,'' he said.

FOX CHIDES CLINTON

Trailing five to 10 percentage points behind PRI candidate Francisco
Labastida in opinion polls, Fox carried his message of ``economic
development with a human face'' to radio and television stations, to
Evangelical and Catholic leaders, and to the party faithful across
Chiapas, a touch of John Wayne in his swagger as he greeted voters.

``I'm going to bury them, trample them underfoot,'' he promised supporters
who approached him flashing a victory sign.

``We need change,'' said Fox backer Vicente Leon, 37, a professor from the
state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez. ``There is no evolution in Mexico. The
poverty continues.''

Fox and his National Action Party (PAN) are seeking to capitalise on such
disenchantment with Mexico's politics as usual, though some say Fox lost
an early edge by failing to back his brash rhetoric with a coherent
strategy.

Privately, Fox complained that President Bill Clinton had supported
Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo in an election process aimed at
preserving the status quo.

Last year Zedillo discarded his traditional prerogative of handpicking a
successor and decided to hold the party's first primary to nominate the
next president.

But Fox, like other critics, complained that the dice were heavily loaded
in favour of Labastida, a Zedillo ally. Fox chided Clinton for making a
congratulatory phone call to Zedillo after the primary.

``All Mexicans knew that Labastida was Zedillo's candidate. Only Clinton
didn't know,'' Fox told Reuters. ``That call did not contribute to
democracy in Mexico.''

REVOLUTION OF HOPE

Before hundreds of enthusiastic party delegates on Sunday, Fox outlined a
plan to pull Chiapas out of misery, calling for a ``revolution of hope.''
The southern state leads the country in poverty, illiteracy and
malnutrition.

He proposed granting income tax exemptions of up to 10 years for new
businesses, keeping more revenue from natural resources within the state,
directing more revenue to education, and developing markets for small
agricultural producers and artisans.

That plan fits into a national platform that aims to decentralize the
federal government, create 1.3 million new jobs, boost economic growth and
double education funding.


Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited

 
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