<<Speaking as someone who was at that rally in Mexico City on Sunday, I can tell you what I saw. The Marcos entourage was your basic Seattle WTO protestor, and most of them were from eurotrash countries like France and Italy, countries with high unemployment and way too generous dole benefits, giving these clods oodles of free time with which to meddle in Mexican political affairs. The other people who were pro-Marcos were some Indian group representatives, the kind who have every intention of being the TOP Indian when the revolution comes, all in the service of 'the people' of course. In addition, there were 1960s backwash academics from the wasteland public schools of Mexico, such as UNAM, which have long ago degenerated into leftwing fistwaving in place of academic excellence. Lot of Trotsky and Castro lovers in that crew too - foreign of course. I didn't meet a single solitary normal Mexico City denizen who had any liking for these poseurs. Marcos himself is a blue-eyed white-skinned cashiered Marxist academic who hasn't felt he's got enough attention and therefore turned to revolution. The mask of course is his means of disguising the fact that he is not Indian, despite his claims to speak for them. All and all, a total Marxist fraud!
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Eyewitness report from a Japanese friend on zap's arrival in mexico city:
<<found a (relatively) cheap ticket to fly to Mexico City on 10th. And attended the mega-meeting-fiesta with the EZLN in Zocalo there, though got quite groggy standing hours under the unforgivenning burning sunl: apparently the EZLN has no habit of announcing the exact time of their arrival and people just waited and waited since early morning till they finally materialized around 3 pm. It was worht waiting though. Marcos' speach in particular was quite impressive and unusual as a political discourse, it was long but gentle and mesmelizing and more like a poetry than a political agitation. And yet it seems to succeeded to carry a strong political message and arize emotion among the more than 200,000 people that packed and overflowed the Plaza. The WomenLs Network--middle aged rotanda womens of Mexico City lead and organized welcome logistics including the many layers of "human cordons" to protect the EZLN commandantes from possible assassination. Though he himself warns against it, there's apparently personal cult of Marcos being formed among youth in particular seems like. At one time, this rugged, though certainly charming and with a style, man covered in ski mask puffing smoke from his pipe looked like a rock star assaulted by the chant of "Marcos, Marcos." The Mexican left journalism (Journada, Uno mas uno, Processo) have been having their heyday with this caraban and arrival of a new hero in the capital and putting a steady flow of print and publications. For example, the hour-long interview Marcos gave to the founder of Processo magazine and broadcasted in the early morning of 11 was already printed before the EZLN's arrival at Zocalo.