EPR Guerrillas Unnoticed by Many Mexicans

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many Mexicans are not aware of the 
existence of an illegal armed group, according to a poll by 
Ipsos-Bimsa published in El Universal. Only 36 per cent of 
respondents are familiar with the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), 
while 63 per cent know about the Zapatista National Liberation Army 
(EZLN).

When asked which conditions justify the formation of a guerrilla 
movement, 43 per cent of respondents mention dealing with the 
population?s poverty. Sup****t is lower for groups that seek to either 
combat the authoritarianism of an administration, or create a 
revolution to topple the government.

The EPR was assembled in 1996, and operates mainly in the state of 
Guerrero. Throughout 2007, the armed group has claimed responsibility 
for several attacks against state-owned oil facilities and pipelines, 
as well as a bombing in a department store located in the state of 
Oaxaca.

On Dec. 8, Mexico?s interior secretary Francisco Ramrez Acua 
dismissed the EPR?s claims of a targeted government campaign against 
activists, saying, "There is no persecution of social leaders. (...) 
We must act responsibly so the people can know the truth and be able 
to *****s what the social movements are doing, and what the 
government has to do."

In January 1994, the EZLN declared its intention to overthrow the 
Mexican government, headed at the time by Carlos Salinas de Gortari. 
The group took control of several municipalities in Chiapas during a 
two-week uprising. There have been no new clashes between the 
Zapatistas and the Mexican armed forces in more than 13 years.

During the presidential term of Vicente Fox, the Zapatistas marched 
to Mexico City and presented their case to the Mexican Congress. The 
legislative branch eventually endorsed an indigenous rights bill, but 
the final do***ent did not satisfy the Zapatistas. The EZLN has since 
established 32 "autonomous settlements" in Chiapas without the 
sup****t of the Mexican government.

Polling Data

Are you familiar with the following guerrilla groups? ("Yes" responses
only)

Zapatista National Liberation Army    63% (EZLN)

Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR)      36%

Under which of these conditions is a guerrilla movement justified? 
("Yes" responses only)

To deal with the population's poverty      43%

To combat the authoritarianism of an       33%
administration

To create a revolution and topple the      20%
government

Source: Ipsos-Bimsa / El Universal Methodology: Face-to-face 
interviews with 1,000 Mexican adults, conducted in December 2007. 
Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.

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