10/2/02	Oaxacan governor joins movement against indigenous rights law -- The governor of Oaxaca will lead a group of 250 municipal officials and political organizations next week to the capital to challenge a recent Supreme Court decision to uphold a controversial Indian Rights law.(AFP)
9/17/02	The Indigenous Rights Law: A Timeline of events (1996 - 2002) -- In 1996 the Mexican government and the EZLN signed the San Andrés Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture. Twice versions of the Bill have been presented to Congress for ratification, but neither version has reflected the original in its true form. The version passed under the Fox Administration in 2000 received over 320 Constitutional challenges from Mexican states. In September of 2002 the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled against accepting the complaints, angering indigenous groups through out the country. A complete timeline of the struggle for the Indigenous Rights Law is outlined. (Megan Ybarra, for Global Exchange)
9/13/02	The Indigenous Rights Law: A Timeline of events (1996 - 2002) -- In 1996 the Mexican government and the EZLN signed the San Andrés Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture. Twice versions of the Bill have been presented to Congress for ratification, but neither version has reflected the original in its true form. The version passed under the Fox Administration in 2000 received over 320 Constitutional challenges from Mexican states. In September of 2002 the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled against accepting the complaints, angering indigenous groups through out the country. A complete timeline of the struggle for the Indigenous Rights Law is outlined. (Megan Ybarra, for Global Exchange)
9/12/02	Mexico Court Upholds Indian Law -- Mexico's Supreme Court on Friday rejected challenges to an Indian rights law, angering rebel supporters who accused authorities of abandoning the nation's indigenous peoples. The 8-3 ruling is likely to spark protests by rebel sympathizers who had all but frozen their dialogue with the government for the last year. They argued the law did not go far enough in protecting Mexico's Indians.(Will Weissert, Associated Press Writer)
9/4/02	Indigenous groups want to contribute to Western medicine but expect compensation -- Traditional communities in Mexico should share their knowledge of ancient medicinal practices with the rest of the world -- but only if they are compensated for their contribution, said an indigenous leader to the French Press Agency. Mindahi Bastida, a member of the Otomi indigenous group chosen as a delegate for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, claims that multi-national pharmaceutical companies have "pillaged" traditional medicinal practices.(TheNewsMexico.com)
5/17/02	Senator expects Supreme Court to overturn Indigenous Law -- Sen. Rutilio Escandon, chairman of Mexico's congressional Commission for Concordance and Pacification (Cocopa), predicted Friday the Supreme Court would throw out the Indigenous Rights and Culture Law on constitutional grounds. (EFE)
5/15/02	Supreme Court edges closer to indigenous reform ruling -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday began a marathon period of sessions to meet with lawyers for the 321 municipalities and state governments seeking to block a constitutional amendment for indigenous rights. (The News Mexico)
5/15/02	Supreme Court starts hearings on indigenous rights law -- The Supreme Court will start hearing next Monday the hundreds of constitutional challenges to the Indigenous Rights Law, passed by Congress last year. (The News Mexico)
4/10/02	Supreme Court to hear appeals in June on Indigenous Law -- Responding to thousands of legal challenges, the Supreme Court will decide in June on the constitutionality of the controversial Indian Rights law Congress passed last year. (The News Mexico)
2/18/02	Lawmakers Push Indigenous Rights Bill -- Opposition lawmakers called on Congress Monday to reconsider the original version of an Indian rights bill aimed at ending an 8-year rebel conflict in southernmost Chiapas state. (Associated Press)
1/9/02	Zapatistas, gov't awaiting Supreme Court decision -- In April, the Chiapas-based Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) cut off all communication with President Vicente Fox's administration, accusing the government of "sabotaging" the peace process after Congress passed a watered-down version of an indigenous rights amendment the rebel group demanded. (The News)
11/26/01	Political parties call for Congress to live up to Indian Rights Law -- Senators from two of the three major congressional parties have asked the lower house of deputies to direct more resources to indigenous communities and that modifications be made to the federal penal code to continue with constitutional changes required by the recently passed Indian Rights and Culture Law. (TheNewsMexico.com)
10/16/01	President's declarations in Europe are lies -- The National Indigenous Congress (CNI) "is at that moment not disposed to contact president Vicente Fox, in order to discuss the counterreform" on indigenous rights and culture, assured Larisa Ortiz, representative of the Congress, who is in Spain to "spread the version of the Mexican Indigenous" against "Fox' mendacious declarations before the European spaces". (La Jornada)
9/3/01	More of the Same for the Indigenous Peoples and Dialogue -- On September 1, President Fox affixed his little star for the dialogue process and the recognition of the rights of the indigenous people. The message is clear: he believes he has already done everything, and, from his perspective, the only thing left is for the other side to accept the evidence the powers are presenting to them. How little does he know the indigenous peoples and their history of resistance and dignity. (La Jornada)
8/22/01	The Fox government has failed the Indians, says López Barcenas -- The spaces for the indigenous in the Fox government have, little by little, been closed off, and the presidential commitments to the Indian peoples and to the EZLN have remained nothing but words, asserted Francisco López Barcenas. (La Jornada)
8/15/01	Political polarization as the Indigenous law is proclaimed -- Political polarization was manifested when the Diario Oficial de la Federación [Official Journal of the Federation] published the text of the constitutional reforms on Indigenous Rights and Culture. (La Jornada)
7/20/01	A timeline of events from the San Andres Accords to the Indigenous Rights Law -- Originally published by La Jornada, Mexico.
7/13/01	Mexico OKs Indian Rights Bill -- An Indian rights bill won approval from a majority of Mexican state legislatures, but the law appeared unlikely to satisfy leftist Zapatista rebels. (Associated Press)
6/6/01	Xaxaca and Zacatecas state legislatures reject Indian Rights bill -- 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. (EFE)
5/25/01	Mexican State OKs Indian Bill -- Veracruz has become the first state to ratify a government-sponsored Indian rights bill opposed by many of Mexico's Indians. The bill was approved by Veracruz's legislature on Thursday, despite protests from Indian groups that it had been watered down by the Senate, which made revisions before both houses of Congress passed it last month. (Associated Press)
5/14/01	Mexico's Indians Urge States to Reject Rights Reform Package -- Indian communities are urging state lawmakers to reject the final version of constitutional reforms for indigenous rights, saying the proposals have been too watered down. (Reuters)
5/13/01	Indigenous Rights: Why Are the Reforms Being Rejected? -- The constitutional changes in indigenous matters approved by the Congress of the Union last April have been called into question by various sectors of society. While the EZLN and the CNI [National Indigenous Congress] have called for mobilizing in favor of the Cocopa legislative proposal, legislators, especially those from the PRI, the PAN and a few PRD senators -- have fanatically defended their decisions (La Jornada)
5/10/01	PRD Calls For Discussion Of Original Draft Of Indians Rights Law -- Mexico's leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) will sponsor the original draft of an Indians Rights Law to Congress in an attempt to remove revisions to the measure added during the recent legislative process. (EFE)
5/1/01	Declaration by the National Indigenous Congress about the Law of Indigenous Rights -- WHEREAS 509 years of history have signified nothing but exploitation, discrimination, and misery to our peoples, who are the primordial inhabitants of this nation; and whereas this Mexican Nation, born from our seed and heart, was built by powerful rulers in denial of our existence and of our supreme right to walk along our own path...
5/1/01	Rebels Reject Indigenous Bill -- Mexico's Zapatista rebels broke off all contacts with the government Monday and called upon supporters to protest against an Indian rights bill that he says fails to meet rebels' demands. (The Guardian)
5/1/01	Declaration by the National Indigenous Congress about the Law of Indigenous Rights -- CONSIDERANDO que 509 anhos de historia han significado para los nuestros, pueblos primeros, explotacio'n, discriminacio'n y pobreza, y que la Nacio'n Mexicana, nacida de nuestra semilla y de nuestros corazones, ha sido edificada por los poderosos negando nuestra existencia y negando nuestro supremo derecho a caminar nuestro propio camino, sin que ello signifique renegar de la patria fundada con nuestra sangre.
4/30/01	Measure on Mexican Indians' Rights Gets Mixed Reviews -- A long-awaited Indian rights measure passed by Mexico's lower house of Congress was received today as a reasonable compromise by its supporters and a dangerous "deception" by its critics. (Washington Post)
4/30/01	Treason In Congress -- A long-awaited Indian rights measure passed by Mexico's lower house of Treason has been finally accomplished. The Congress of the Union has turned its back on the Indian peoples by passing a Law of Indigenous Rights that violates the San Andrés Accords and casts doubt over Vicente Fox's willingness for peace, as well as that of the legislators of every political party. (La Jornada)
4/30/01	President Fox Challenges Detractors Of The Indian Rights Law To Offer Proposals -- President Vicente Fox called the Indian Rights Law, passed by the Congress on Saturday, a "great step forward, a giant step" towards achieving peace in Chiapas. Before mounting his horse at his ranch in San Cristobal, he affirmed that he would keep working as long as needed to resolve the conflict. (La Jornada)
4/28/01	Constitutional Denial -- The constitutional denial of Indigenous claims and fundamental rights is deeply rooted in the history of our country. In 1824 the first constitution, the same that gave birth to the present Mexican State, actually treated us as foreigners. (La Jornada)
4/27/01	Indigenous Law Proposal Approved By Senate: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back -- The constitutional changes regarding indigenous issues which were approved by the Senate of the Republic - along with the vote of all the parties, to the shame of the PRD - is closer to the Zedillo Law than to the Cocopa Law in its fundamental aspects. (La Jornada)
4/27/01	The Indigenous Rights And Culture Law And The Peace Process -- The Senate draft ignores the highest legal framework which exists concerning indigenous matters: Convention 169 of the ILO. The draft voted on last night by the Senate to reform the Constitution regarding Indigenous Rights and Culture does not fundamentally recognize the historic demands of these peoples -- to be recognized as the subjects of right in terms of their collective nature and cultural diversity -- thus failing to take the opportunity to respond to this historic and just demand.
4/26/01	Indian Rights Bill Gains Victory -- A sweeping Indian rights bill meant to help end the Zapatista rebellion in southern Mexico has gained its first major victory. Mexico's Senate approved the proposed constitutional change in a unanimous vote Wednesday. (AP)
3/29/01	Zapatista Leaders Make Their Case to Mexico's Congress -- In an act of political theater that brought Mexico's fledgling civil rights movement center stage, masked commanders of the rebel Zapatistas took the floor of Congress today to defend a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing new rights for the country's 10 million Indians. (New York Times)
3/28/01	Zapatistas Dance of Democracy Picks Up Tempo -- The Zapatistas are dancing with the future of Mexico. In a last-minute effort to salvage peace, the Mexican Congress has agreed to receive a delegation from the rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army. Today, for the first time in history, masked but unarmed rebels will appear before Congress. (LA Times)