Rebels Reject Peace Plan in Mexico

Dozens of rebel Indian communities in southern Mexico overwhelmingly rejected a government peace proposal but voted against renewed violence.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army, which launched the New Year’s Day uprising, issued the results in a communique late Saturday.

It said 98% of villagers in the area it controls, in remote southeastern Chiapas state, voted against accepting the government offer, which promised more government aid to the impoverished region and reforms of the state’s repressive political system.

Instead, the announcement said the villagers, mostly descendants of Mayan Indians, voted for “a new national dialogue with all the nation’s progressive forces for democracy, liberty and justice for all Mexicans.”