Spirits unbroken among the clouds

The Mexican army is demoralised after five years of rebellion against the government by the Zapatista National Liberation Army in the Chiapas province of Mexico. The rebels have built dozens of new villages, organised into autonomous districts, in Chiapas since Pres. Ernesto Zedillo disowned the San Andreas accord on indigenous rights and culture and boosted the military presence in the area in Jan. 1997. The Mexican army showed that the Zapatista rebels' message was having an impact when 51 officers marched to the senate in an unprecedented public demonstration in Dec. 1998.