I live (sometimes) in Mexico, and I'm engaged to a fine young mexican woman. So allow me to offer some insights.

It's my understanding that they are actually funded by foreign multi-nationals? Particulalry Petroleum corps? I know the wife of Mitterand (ex French Premier) has given them a sh*t load of money. This is deeply hypocritical, as the Zapas stance is firmly against foreign influence in Mexico.

I'm totally for their fight for recognition of indigenous rights though. Mexico is extremley discriminatory, with dark-skinned people calling each other "whitey" as a compliment. The situation in Chipas is especially pronounced becuase there still exists a kind of colonial feudalism there - with local "dons" running things (crime, extortion) their own way.

It's a common and important misconception about the violence though, one that seems to be overlooked. The actual killings are not by Zapatistas-on-Soldiers or vice-versa. Instead, it revolves around these local lords, who have (officially illegal) troops of paramilitaries who maintain the status quo via violence. With the emergence of the Zapatistas threatening their regimes, these local lords have actively persued a violent end to what was an initally peacfull organised protest. In actual fact, fights between the government and the "rebels" have been limited in number and loss of life. Although the previous PRI administration certainly didn't aid matters, when it opened a mass of small military outposts throughout the region.

Next we have Commandante "Che" Marcos. Here's some news for you; he's chilango (from Distrito Federal). He sees himself as a socialist revolutionary when in fact he's a rich, and not amazingly bright person, who has romantic views about solving all of Mexico's problems - an admirable ideal, but he simply isn't worth the hero worship that the international media, and middle-class Mexico is bestowing on him. If he was so good, he and his fellow commandantes would discard the masks and military chíc and become the respectable (insofar is possible) face of the Zapatistas. They're not in any danger by doing so - if they are harmed, there will be uproar.

Finally, the point that the major stumbling block to successful talks is actually imposed by the Zapatistas. They want *complete* economic autonomy for he region. Why? Becuase Chiapas is oil-rich. Now obviously the government isn't about to do this. They reason that exploitation of the oil by the government will create stability in the area, and promise inwards investment.
It's like the populous of Stavanger (Oil-rich part of Norway) saying "We want lots of concessions and money from you, but we get to keep the oil". Well, kind of like that anyway.

In summary then. I personally feel it's a very good campaign by the Zapatistas, they certainly have the interests of the area and people at heart. They are certianly not violent reactionaries like which the biased Mexican media paints them. They've done themselves an enormous amount of good by going to the city, all of the lower and middle-classes are behind them, along with much of Mexico's elite too. What they need to do now is become politicians, like Sinn Fein are to the "freedom fighters" (bullshit!) in Ireland. The Zapatour has won support and
approval, now they need to win respect - when that comes, so will a solution.