31. The Zapatista National Liberation Army has demanded better political representation and social services for the impoverished and largely illiterate Indian peasants of Chiapas. 32. The Zapatistas revolted to protest poverty and discrimination suffered by the Indian peasants in Chiapas, as well as to demand greater democracy in Mexico as a whole. 33. There are firefighters, musicians, soccer players, Indian peasants, children and people in wheelchairs. 34. The Zapatistas are fighting the government for improved conditions for Indian peasants in the impoverished south of Mexico. 35. The Zapatistas have roots in Indian peasant organizations, church activists and a Leninist guerrilla group from northern Mexico. 36. Thousands of Indian peasants, many of whom left remote villages on foot days ago, were planning a midday march in the city. 37. Two Indian peasants cower before the wicked plantation foreman as he slaps the earth with a razor-sharp machete. 38. Zapatistas demand improved living conditions and basic rights for impoverished Indian peasants. 39. The rebels said then, however, that before accepting the agreement they had to present it to their supporters in the Indian peasant communities in Chiapas. 40. The statement said the government wanted to encourage a return to normal of daily life in the zone, where thousands of Indian peasants have fled their communities. |