Guerrillas in the Mist

REPORTS of the death of history are highly exaggerated, not least in Mexico. Ideological politics is now flourishing there, thanks to the sudden eruption of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).

Last January 1, at the moment the North American Free Trade Agreement came into force, the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas and three other lesser towns in the remote state of Chiapas were occupied by armed men dressed in a rough military uniform. Most of them appeared to be Indians, and some were armed only with machetes or wooden imitation rifles. Their leaders were better armed and carried sophisticated communications equipment; they were masked in black woolen balaclava helmets.

About the Author

Anthony Daniels

Mr. Daniels, a retired doctor who worked in several parts of the world, is the author of Mass Listeria, a book about health scares.

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REPORTS of the death of history are highly exaggerated, not least in Mexico. Ideological politics is now flourishing there, thanks to the sudden eruption of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).

Last January 1, at the moment the North American Free Trade Agreement came into force, the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas and three other lesser towns in the remote state of Chiapas were occupied by armed men dressed in a rough military uniform. Most of them appeared to be Indians, and some were armed only with machetes or wooden imitation rifles. Their leaders were better armed and carried sophisticated communications equipment; they were masked in black woolen balaclava helmets.