By
The Associated Press
MEXICO CITY - A sweeping Indian rights bill meant to help end the Zapatista rebellion in southern Mexico was facing its first major vote yesterday before Mexico's Senate.
The bill is meant to enact a 1996 agreement between the government and the Zapatista National Liberation Army signed in the Indian village of San Andres Larrainzar. It would modify Mexico's constitution to guarantee greater Indian political and cultural rights.
Former President Ernesto Zedillo's rejection of the measure caused talks with the rebels to break down. New President Vicente Fox, pushing to settle the rebellion, made the bill his first proposal to Congress in December.
It was not clear if the Zapatistas fully accept the new draft. The original version they supported was modified by Senate commissions following criticism that its wording was too vague.
But Sen. Jesus Ortega, head of the delegation for the Democratic Revolution Party, said he believed "the spirit of San Andres is preserved" in the bill. His leftist party has been trying to ensure that the bill is acceptable to the rebels.
The bill still faces a long march before becoming law - and does not guarantee peace with the rebels.
The measure will have to approved twice by the Senate, then go to the lower house of congress. If approved there, the constitutional amendments would have to be approved by a majority of state legislatures.
The agreement on Indian rights was the first of several planned agreements between the government and rebels leading to a final peace treaty, though it is often considered the key issue for the largely Indian Zapatistas.
More than 145 people died during two weeks of fighting immediately after the Zapatistas emerged from the jungle to seize several towns in Chiapas state on Jan. 1, 1994.
A cease-fire has held since then and the rebels have moved increasingly toward political rather than military action. But the unsettled rebellion has fed political conflicts. More than 200 people have died since early 1994 in clashes over land or power between rebel supporters or opponents.
