In the mid-nineties, Zapatista fever seemed to be taking over Mexico, and through the beginning of the current decade is appeared to still be going strong. Nowhere was the support stronger than in the Southern state of Chiapas, where the movement began and grew. But now reports are that the EZLN is losing steam at its base in Polho, Chiapas:

Nearly 200 families have abandoned the Zapatista rebel movement in one of its strongholds, turning to the government for aid at a time when the insurgents are complaining about the loss of outside support.

On Wednesday, each family received initial payments of $43 in a ceremony with Salvador Escobedo, a top official with the federal government’s Social Development Department. The government is promising similar payments every two months, as well as a school and medical center.

The ceremony in Polho, long a backbone of the Zapatista movement, appeared to be the most prominent desertion from the insurgency since 2004, when about 400 families in the unofficial rebel capital of La Realidad broke away to accept government help, dividing the village in two.

Deserters cite their reasons for leaving the EZLN as a lack of basic necessities such as medical care and food.

Is this the beginning of the end of the Zapatistas? International support seems to have waned, if their media visibility in this country and in Europe is an indicator. What do you think?

Via / Yahoo! News