EFE
June 06, 2001

Mexico City -- The legislatures of the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Zacatecas were the first to vote against the Indian Rights Bill approved by the national legislature, but which was later rejected by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) and Mexican indigenous organizations.

Eight state legislatures have voted in favor of the bill, while 22 must still decide on the issue, according to reporters.

Legislators in Oaxaca and Zacatecas agree the bill does not respect the spirit of the San Andres Accords, signed in February 1996 as a condition imposed by the EZLN for returning to peace negotiations with the Mexican government.

Last April, the Mexican Senate unanimously approved reforms to the constitution to guarantee indigenous rights and culture, and the lower house passed the same reforms by a majority, but the bill still requires ratification, rejection or modification by the legislatures of the 31 Mexican states and the federal district.

The EZLN and the National Indigenous Congress rejected the reforms, saying that too many changes had been made to the draft submitted by the Commission for Reconciliation and Peace (COCOPA), which had the approval of Zapatista guerrillas.

When the national legislature approved the amended measure, the EZLN broke off negotiations that had been opened when Zapatista leaders traveled in a caravan in March to the capital to meet there with federal lawmakers and to try and win support for the indigenous rights legislation.

As conditions for renewing peace talks with the government, suspended in 1996, the EZLN demanded the approval of what they called the "COCOPA law," the dismantling of military bases in the conflict zone in the state of Chiapas - which has been accomplished -- and the release of all Zapatistas who were held prisoner.