Two dozen masked Zapatista rebels entered Mexico's national parliament yesterday, invited in by legislators to press for the approval of an indigenous rights Bill which would grant limited autonomy to the nation's eleven million native people.
The session was formally opened by a speaker from Congress's Indigenous and Constitutional Affairs Commission, who then handed the tribunal over to the masked rebels, who in turn opened the forum up to six speakers from the National Indigenous Congress (CNI), which represents the country's 57 ethnic peoples.
A round of questions followed, with time left for the rebels and their guests to respond.
The historic rebel visit was engineered by the Zapatista leader, Subcomandante Marcos, and Mexican President Vicente Fox, whose intense lobbying efforts overcame widespread reluctance among legislators to permit the rebels access to parliament. President Fox's own National Action Party (PAN) showed its dissatisfaction with the rebel presence by directing all 207 party legislators not to attend today's session, although exception was made for deputies belonging to the relevant constitutional affairs commissions which drew up the Indian rights Bill.
The masked rebels were allowed to invite 260 guests, a fraction of the 1,690 spaces available in the public gallery. All of their guests were indigenous, with named representatives from Mexico's 57 ethnic groups invited to the session.
The Zapatistas also invited the Ecuadoran activist, Mr Antonio Vargas, who led the mass indigenous mobilisation which toppled the Jamil Mahuad government in January, 2000, Ms Mirna Cunningham, former president of Nicaragua's Autonomous Parliament and Ms Noeli Pocaterra, indigenous affairs adviser to President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.
President Fox's peace strategy has caused divisions within the PAN and the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), ousted from power last December after 71 years of uninterrupted rule. In a tight congressional vote held last week 143 PRI deputies voted in favour of allowing the rebels inside parliament, resulting in a 10-vote majority out of 430 legislators.
"For the first time ever" said Marcos, "the indigenous are not coming in the back door to Congress but have gained entry in dignified and respectful conditions."
The congressional session coincided with the release of rebel prisoners and the dismantling of seven out of 259 army positions in Chiapas, the preconditions imposed by the rebels before restarting direct talks with the government.
The rebellious mood within the PAN was highlighted at the party's annual conference last week when the party leader, Mr Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, described Mr Fox as "Marcos's PR agent", giving in to each and every Zapatista demand.
Yesterday's session was not expected to bring immediate approval of the indigenous rights Bill, which requires a two-thirds majority to become law and must then be submitted to state parliaments around the country.
