On the first day of the New Year, indigenous supporters of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) of Chiapas peacefully and symbolically “retook” the city of San Cristobal de la Casas. The nighttime march drew between 15,000 and 20,000 supporters, gathered to mark the ninth anniversary of the rebel group’s surprise overtaking of San Cristobal and several other towns on January 1, 1994. The gathering marked the official end of a year and half of silence maintained by the Zapatistas, in protest of inadequate Indian rights legislation passed by the Mexican Congress in 2001.See Spotlight Article
