Zapatistas observe the anniversary of their 1994 uprising at a ceremony Monday in La Realidad, Chiapas.
AMLO won’t fall for provocations by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, or EZLN, he told reporters today.
President López Obrador said the Zapatistas have the right to protest and dissent and he was open to dialogue with them.
Yesterday, EZLN chief Subcomandante Moisés confirmed that his organization would oppose projects planned by the new government, including the Maya Train and the National Guard.
“We are going to fight. We are going to confront [them]; we are not going to allow [López Obrador] to come through here with his destructive projects,” he said just before midnight on New Year’s Eve at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the EZLN’s 1994 uprising in Chiapas.
“We say to him that we don’t believe him,” Moisés said, calling the president “dishonest” and “cunning.”
López Obrador said he had no dispute with the Zapatista leaders. “I express my respect for their plans, their programs, for their decisions. We live in a free country; there is no repression, there is no censorship. Who keeps score? The citizens.
“We are not going to confront any group. We want peace and reconciliation,” the president told reporters.
“We are open to dialogue and love and peace.”
The president has campaigned on defending the rights of indigenous citizens and his presidency has been welcomed by many, but the Zapatistas remain unconvinced.
At a symbolic indigenous ceremony in December, he asked permission from Mother Earth to build the Maya Train.
The Zapatistas called it “a mockery.”
Source: El Financiero (sp), Milenio (sp)
