Obstacles Facing the Zapatistas, Now and in the Future

 Today, the Zapatista movement still faces many of the same obstacles it did in its first years, plus a few more.  The communities of Chiapas have been unable to weather the changes wrought by Mexico's economic restructuring.  The people are still impoverished. There are still more than 70,000 Mexican soldiers surrounding indigenous regions in Chiapas.  Displacement of hundreds of families due to violence by Mexican army and paramilitary attacks is becoming a larger problem. The army of the EZLN is still without many supplies, including food and ammunition.  They can make as big of a statement as in the past, but beyond that cannot accomplish much.  An all-out war with the Mexican army is not a possibility for the EZLN army.  Currently they are working to merely defend their people.
 
 
 

 The Zapatistas do not necessarily have all the support they need to achieve anything politically either.  All peasant and Indigenous groups in Mexico do not support the Zapatistas, as they are often seen as troublemakers.  A number of indigenous leaders are still detained.  However, they have continued to collect global support.  With the recent elections, media interest is up and everyone is looking to see what will be done politically for Chiapas.  But how much can be done politically?  Foreign supporters cannot do much to help representation for the Zapatista efforts in government.  Without political backing, there is little to insure that whatever agreements are made will be supported.  The San Andres Accords have still not been implemented.
 It remains difficult to tell how the election of Vicente Fox will impact the movement.  A new governor of Chiapas may also have significance.  An "urgent call to action" has been issued to end the war and begin peace talks on the first day Fox takes office on December 1.  Zapatists supporting negotiations demand that their main requests be accepted.  How feasible this will be is unsure.  In Brussels on October 5, Fox announced that he will "send Congress a legislative proposal accepting the San Andre's Larra'inzar Accords" and that he "will be ready to withdraw" the Mexican army from the occupied communities in Chiapas.  Despite the supposed willingness of Fox to resolve the conflict, many Zapatists are not so ready to resume peace talks.  The violence that has occurred in the indigenous communities in the past during attempts at negotiation is reason for distrust of the Mexican government.  Members of the EZLN threaten to withdraw rather than negotiate peace.
 Currently, the matters of the Zapatistas are at a stalemate.  They have done what they can militarily with all the available resources.  It does not seem that the EZLN can accomplish much more without negotiations.  But mistrust that results from attempts in the past keeps Zapatistas from wanting to try that road again either.  Even if talks can go over peacefully, the peasants and Indigenous groups of Chiapas still have no way to ensure that agreements are implemented.  Where will they go from here?  Much depends on whether an attempt at peace negotiations will be made or not.