During Election Day some 50 impoverished homes were burned, robbed, or destroyed in four districts of the state of Chiapas, including Palenque, Pichucalco, Ocosingo, and San Cristobal de las Casas. Almost half of the targeted homes were found in San Cristobal de las Casas, the state capital. At least two indigenous men were hospitalized, and many other wounded by machete cuts. While the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) denounced the day’s events as impeding on the fair election process, some officials believe that the EZLN caused the violence and political disruption. Blame for such violence and disruption in the state is commonly pinned on the indigenous revolutionary group independent of their degree of involvement in such incidents.
