Another Headache for Zedillo

As if Mexico did not have enough problems, a mysterious group of masked men armed with high-powered weapons and claiming to be revolutionaries has surfaced with murderous intent, killing at least 17 people in six of the nation’s states. This was more a drive-by shooting than a rebellion but nonetheless posed yet another difficulty for President Ernesto Zedillo.

Little is known about this group, including its numbers. No one in Mexico believes it has the social base or the military ability to destabilize the regime. But the insurrection should not be treated lightly: It presents a political challenge to Zedillo in both the domestic and international arenas.

The Mexican army, which is attempting to improve its record in human rights, should act within the law when combating the rebels, who call their outfit the Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR, and claim to be successors to the rebels who pressed the radical-left insurrections that engulfed Mexico in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Those rebellions were put down with maximum force. A similar strategy now could sour Mexico’s international relations.

The timing of the recent shootings, only a few days before Zedillo’s State of the Union address, suggests that the rebels intended to crank up fear and to chill foreign investment. Fortunately for Mexico, there was no immediate reaction on Wall Street.

But the Zedillo government is not out of the woods of rebellion yet. The government needs to achieve a peace with the Zapatista rebels in the southern state of Chiapas. More jobs are needed across the country, and the lack of employment stirs political embers. Paychecks for Mexicans can reverse the appeal of revolutionaries, but Zedillo also needs the continued backing of the international financial community. If investors lose faith and retreat, Mexico could take a long step back to a time of anxiety and confusion.