by JULIE WATSON Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Anti-capitalist rebel Subcomandante Marcos, who wooed the world with his poetic Internet communiques, is on his way to becoming the most marketable masked man on the planet.
Advertisers have usurped his image to sell furniture, appliances -- even courses in public relations.
A Marcos imitator smoking a pipe sells furniture and appliances on TV commercials for the Mexican retail chain Viana, negotiating unbeatable prices for the masses.
A magazine ad for a public relations school pictures the ski-masked guerrilla fighter wearing a soldier's bandolier, a cellphone and a microphone headset.
The ad asks: ''Why does he have so much power? A) Because of his guns? B) Because of his computer? C) Because of his public image? Answer: His public image.''
A billboard for a home-furnishing store reads: ''We sell everything from marcos to chapas,'' a play on words meaning from picture frames to door locks -- but also from Marcos to Chiapas, the southern state where the rebellion occurred.
Critics fear Marcos' cult of personality will only grow as his Indian rebel caravan -- dubbed the ''Zapatour'' by local media -- continues its trek toward Mexico City, home to some 20 million consumers. Marcos and 23 rebel commanders are to arrive March 11 to lobby for an Indian rights law.
It is the first time Marcos has emerged publicly from Chiapas since the Zapatista revolt on Jan. 1, 1994. The caravan, which was in its fifth day Wednesday, was expected to pass through 12 states on the way to the capital.
''Nowadays, everyone says they are a Zapatista because it's good for business,'' said a disgusted rebel supporter, Julio Velasco, 45.
But Velasco has profited, too: On a recent afternoon on Mexico City's main plaza, he and several other hawkers were doing a brisk business selling T-shirts, photos, posters and books of Marcos.
''This is different,'' said Velasco, wearing a Lenin button, reading a Fidel Castro essay and holding a wad of cash. ''We believe in what we are selling. Those others are rats who've always been part of the system.''
Analysts attribute the Marcos publicity fervor to the Mexican government's new attitude toward the rebels under President Vicente Fox, whose election last year ended seven decades of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Fox has made ending the conflict a top priority and said he welcomes the march as a ''bridge for peace.''
Marcos is not the first revolutionary figure to draw sales. Latin America's most famous anti-capitalist, Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara, continues to appear on key chains, T-shirts and posters years after his death.
Marcos has long received support outside the country -- Oliver Stone missed the 1996 Oscars to meet with him -- but Mexico's mainstream society had steered clear of rebel connections, fearful it would alienate them from the former government.
Despite his overwhelming exposure in television commercials, magazine ads and billboards, Marcos has remained silent on the matter, and businesses continue to use his image without permission. In a quirk in Mexican law, they can continue to do so until he copyrights his image -- something that would require him to reveal his identity. The Zapatistas' information center declined comment.
The silence, however, doesn't mean they agree: Shortly after the uprising, Marcos protested sales of woven Zapatista dolls by local Indians, saying the dolls disrespected fallen rebels. More than 100 Zapatistas died in the 12-day battle with the government in 1994.
He later dropped the issue when it became clear most of the people buying the dolls supported the movement.
In 1995, Benetton asked Marcos to appear in one of their advertisements. But the rebel leader never responded to the offer, a company spokesman said.
''I'm sure he knows about these ads,'' said Miguel Acosta, a Mexican pop culture expert. ''But I think he's choosing to ignore them, to not divert attention away from the essence of the march -- respect for Indians who are facing losing their culture in a globalized world.''
It's a dilemma that Marcos, who has waged more of a propaganda war than a military one, has confronted since the beginning. But now the stakes are higher and the battleground more difficult, with Marcos meeting an equally powerful charmer of the masses: Mexico's cowboy-boot wearing president.
''With the two of them, it's just turned into a big show,'' said Jose Alfredo Zamora, 21, wearing a Marcos T-shirt. ''At this point, it just feels like a rock star is coming. I think that's why so many are buying T-shirts.''