Mexico

Current Events
by Leslie T. Waldorf
Ocean Challenge

Mexico
from Class Afloat News, September 9, 1996

Drama erupted in the room when Ernesto Zedillo, the President of Mexico, delivered his State of the Union address on September 1st. A man dressed in a pig's mask, standing below the podium as the President spoke, held up posters with words criticizing Mr. Zedillo's national policies. Angered by this opposition lawmaker, one of the President's supporters hit the man with the pig mask and pulled off the disguise. Could you imagine this happening during one of President Clinton's speeches?

The episode, however, did not divert President Zedillo from addressing the issue that has made front-page news here and is on everyone's mind in Mexico: the guerrilla attacks that broke out in Mexico killing at least 14 people (and wounding dozens) in the last week of August. For decades Mexico has been free of such widespread raids, so these unexpected attacks have caused alarm. The rebel group, called the Popular Revolutionary Army, has attacked rural villages as well as police and military posts across southern Mexico. In response, the President reassured the people in his speech and promised that he "will not accept the emergence of outdated and bloody incidents of violence." He received a standing ovation for this commitment.

Although the President in his speech celebrated the economic growth that has spurred Mexico's recent recovery from a recession, economics seem to be at the root of the guerrillas' emergence. In Mexico there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, and this kind of unbalance fosters the climate for the grassroots rebel groups to gain support. Keep your eye on the newspapers for updates on this story.