The administration of President Fox announced with great fanfare that, on January 1, it ordered the withdrawal of troops from a base in Oventic, Chiapas. This withdrawal followed on previous military pullbacks in the state.

A local account, by John Ross, indicates that it was not exactly Fox's decision that the base be closed, though he gave the official order.

"Their faces covered by ski-masks and red kerchiefs, the men and women of this important Zapatista community marched defiantly down the misty mountain highway towards the hated military base. At every juncture in the road, they were joined by similarly masked rebel supporters pouring out of the settlements along the route, until their numbers had swelled to close to 800. When the Indians arrived at the camp in Jolnachoj, they wasted little time. First the stiff cyclone fence was peeled back and a second fence pushed aside. Once inside the perimeter, the rebels cut the communication cables so that reinforcements could not be summoned. Then chanting 'Chiapas Is Not A Military Base! Get The Army Out Of Here!' they advanced as one on the retreating troops, calling upon them to clear out post-haste."

Fox made the order official as the soldiers piled into transports and retreated.

Meanwhile, the EZLN is readying plans for the visit of Marcos and other commanders to Mexico city to begin negotiations with the new government. The Zapatistas, while noticing that the government and army are engaged in typical foot dragging, beyond the obvious phot-ops, in meeting peace conditions, is planning to depart by caravan from Chiapas on Feb. 25 and to arrive in Mexico City on March 6.

The EZLN has called upon Mexican and international civil society to join them on their journey and in Mexico City, both as witnesses and as a measure of protection.

A new governor was elected in Tabasco state on Oct. 15. The PRI candidate narrowly defeated the PRD candidate, in an election tainted by allegations of fraud, a PRI specialty.

The results were disputed and wound up in court. On December 29, the federal electoral court threw out the results and annulled the PRI victory.

The outgoing PRI legislature then quickly amended the state constitution to give the state 18 months to hold new elections, rather than the six months previously mandated by the constitution. Meanwhile, the outgoing PRI governor appointed a political associate, Enrique Priego Oropeza, to take over as interim governor on January 1.

When the new legislature was seated on Jan. 1, The PRI retained a slim majority, with 16 PRI legislators to 15 for the opposition. The opposition immediately demanded the removal of Priego as interim governor. A fistfight broke out among the legislators, and the PRI leadership ended the session, and shut off the power to the building.

The opposition group met later with candles and flashlights to select a new interim governor. The PRI legislators returned to the chamber, accompanied by goons and plainclothes police, assaulted opposition members, and ripped up documents.

A truce was worked out later in the day, and shortly after midnight, the opposition, joined by two dissident PRI deputies, named a new interim governor, Adan Augusto Lopez Hernandez, a dissident PRI national legislator.

Less than two hours later, the PRI deputies met again, including the two that had voted for Lopez, and reaffirmed Priego's claim to the governorship.

The national leadership of the PRI and PRD worked out a compromise. Priego gets to be interim governor, and new elections are set for November 11.

A delegation of US Senators visiting Mexico, announced their support for a "Guest Worker," program, that would allow Mexican workers illegally in the US, to acquire legal status and with it, the basic protections of US labor laws.

``We are encouraging a hypocrisy. At the border we arrest ...but once they get here everyone opens their arms and says we've got a job for you,'' said Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM).

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) said ``We're very serious about moving ahead on this,'' he said. ``I think we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to get this done.''

This "once in a lifetime opportunity," is the enthusiasm of Mexican president Fox for the plan, which was among the platforms of his campaign.

The Senators believe President (sic) Bush will support the plan and said they will urge him to meet with Fox at the earliest opportunity work out an agreement. "I have not had the president say 'We want to do this and we support it,' but I have every confidence they will support what we are talking about," said Sen. Gramm.

Zapatista info: www.ezln.org, or www.eco.utexas.edu/homepages/faculty/cleaver/zapsincyber.html.