Online magazine CounterPunch has tracked the recent back-and-forth between Subcomandante Marcos, leader of the Zapatistas, Spanish officials, Mexican intellectuals and Basque leaders in Spain. In response to Marcos’ published challenges to Spanish policies, Judge Baltasar Garzon – the man largely responsible for the banning of the Basque party Batasuna – challenged Marcos to a “face to face” debate. In December communiqués to the Mexican paper La Jornada, Marcos accepted the challenge and issued one of his own, calling for a conference addressing the tense political situation in Basque country to be held concurrently with the debate, and for the separatist group ETA to call a truce. The series of communications can be read online at http://www.counterpunch.org/zaps01112003.html.
