ZAPATISTAS OCCUPY RANCH IN CHIAPAS

About 130 Zapatista sympathizers peacefully occupied Rancho Esmeralda on Friday, two weeks after the US owners abandoned the land. Rancho Esmeralda is located adjacent to the autonomous Zapatista community Nueva Jerusalem and a few meters from the 39th Military Zone, one of the largest military bases in Chiapas. Troops were in the habit of entering the community on a daily basis until residents established a blockade last year. According to La Jornada, both state officials and local residents reported military maneuvers by uniformed personnel on the Rancho Esmeralda property during the past few months.

This combined with increasing arrogance on the part of the US owners led the residents of Nueva Jerusalem to block access to the ranch via their communal lands. When the state government refused to send the army to settle the dispute, the US State Department released a "travel advisory" for parts of Chiapas, thereby affecting tourism throughout southern Mexico. Apparently the US owners are angling for a "settlement" from the state government. According to La Jornada, they are demanding 10 million pesos for 26 acres of land for which they paid 21,000 pesos in 1995. Land disputes are rife in southern Mexico, and it is quite common for one party to quickly assume control of a piece of land if the other party abandons it.