Mexico

1994The city of San Cristobal de las Casas hosted the first round of talks between the rebels and the government. In the course of negotiations, the rebels demanded reforms to the electoral law, to the 1991 Land Reform and the Penal Code, plus other actions aimed at raising living standards for the indigenous people.

PRI’s presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio was murdered on March 23, 1994 in Tijuana. Three of his bodyguards were among the suspects. Then, the PRI nominated Ernesto Zedillo as its new presidential candidate for the August 21 elections. Zedillo won 49% of the votes. Both the PRD and the EZLN charged the government with fraud.

1994High interest rates smothered both small and medium-size enterprises. Unemployment and underemployment hit from 5 to 12 million people respectively, mostly indigenous-origin peddlers or door-to-door vendors.

PRI’s Secretary-general José Francisco Ruiz Massieu was murdered and in November his brother resigned as Attorney General since he suspected that party officials were hampering the criminal investigation. His suspicions were focused on high-ranking PRI’s politicians and drug lords that were allegedly involved in the assessination ploy.

1993From late 1988 to mid 1993, the State received a $21-billion intake worth of privatizations. During all of 1993, the foreign debt added in another $11 billion for a grand total of more than $34 billion.

1992Mexican, Canadian and U.S. governments sign the The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

1991Elections to replace 500 delegates, 32 senators, six governors and 66 capital ediles were held. Trapped in accusations of a huge fraud, the PRI declared itself the winner with 61.4% of the votes. This result permitted the PRI to get a hold on the House of Delegates and grant itself the right to introduce constitutional reforms.

1991This particular Land Reform set up ownership rights for peasants sowing state-run lands, also known as common threshing land, granted by the 1917 Zapata Revolution. As far as the PRI was concerned, the new system was aimed at doing away with the annual import of $10 million worth of foodstuffs. According to the opposition, the Land Reform, though allowing peasants to sell those common threshing lands, would lead to an automatic seizure of small benefits to favor big-money investment.