On December 8, 1999, Dr. Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía assumed the governorship of Chiapas, taking the place of interim governor Roberto Albores Guillén. For the first time in the history of Chiapas a governor legitimately assumed  power through an electoral process (although the elections were tinged by fraud). The PRI was unable to contain the massive citizen participation. Because the population was tired of the PRI, the majority of voters decided for a change of persons and party. The new government was the product of a coalition of parties: the Movement of Hope, funded by Pablo Salazár; the PAN, PRD, PVEM, PT, the Convergence Democratic Party, Democratic Centre Party, Social Action Party, Nationalist Society Party. Twenty PRI municipalities and approximately 250 civil organisations also participated in this process of change in Chiapas.

Amongst other personalities at the swearing in ceremony were the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Alfonso Portillo, the President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, the head of the PRD, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, the national director of the PRD, Amalia García, former Bishop Samuel Ruiz, and the actual Bishop of the San Cristóbal Diocese, Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel.

Upon taking  power Pablo Salazar made a speech which some priístas (PRI supporters) called " political revenge", while those who voted for him described it as " good” and “very good”, depending on how forthwith the person responding was being. In his speech Salazar said, "Today the will of the Chiapanecos to change their destiny has become a reality in the form of this government". " Starting today power will be exercised institutionally, ethically, telling the truth, listening to the people, regularly accounting to them for every governmental action. Power will be exercised for those who have never had any, for those who have always suffered. We will exercise power in Chiapas to achieve justice and govern with equity; it will not be an instrument to use against the population". " The central objective of this change is to accelerate the social and economic development of the state in an balanced, equal and sustainable way, with a modern and durable infrastructure". " I know that some will say that Chiapas has already received substantial financial aid. But we, the Chiapanecos, are the first to ask where all those greatly publicised federal investments of the last few years are". " For this reason, in the presence of the President of the Republic, with all due respect, I suggest that he order an audit to determine the real figure of the federal funds that have been sent to Chiapas".

Amongst other things, Pablo Salazar said: " starting now, we are going to open an office for Foreign Commerce, and we will promote the opening of business offices in different countries to facilitate our exports". "… our most important objective is the development of a social policy that will allow us to reduce the inequities and the marginalization in which the state of Chiapas has been kept. We have to build this social policy with an inclusive vision, respecting cultural differences, directed particularly at those sectors of the population traditionally unattended: women, indigenous population, refugees, children in risky environments…...", " this social policy will be developed mainly in these three areas: fighting poverty, education and health". He also referred to the need to solve the agrarian conflicts in areas of major environmental relevance, referring, but not specifically mentioning, to the case of the Montes Azules in the Lacandon Jungle.

"On the 20th of August, with our vote  the Chiapanecos ended a political system that dominated in Chiapas for decades. With the cover of this system an excluding and authoritarian society was constructed. Regulations were imposed which were obligatory only for the poor, not for the rich and powerful. In the shadow of that political system an infinite number of violations and abuses were committed. The indigenous population was discriminated against and  human rights were violated. Expulsions were permitted and often promoted. Citizen participation was inhibited and the right to vote was violated. The media was manipulated and censored. Journalists were persecuted and killed. In the end, a repressive and authoritarian political body developed which produced a culture of expulsion and intolerance". " The new government of Chiapas will strictly adhere to legality and fully respect human rights; it will not allow the authorities or the civil service to act with impunity, particularly those involved in the administration of justice". Salazar also committed to preventing the expulsion of political activists. Amongst other commitments he made, he said that in order to prevent corruption in the administration of justice, the Monday following his taking of power, he would send three proposals of law  to create: the Juridical Council, the Institute of Judicial Studies, and Regulations for the Fund for the Improvement of the Administration and Implementation of Justice…".

He pledged to: "do everything possible to prevent conflicts continue to cause….bloody outcomes " . " We already know, as is normal, that until now one side has contributed almost all the casualties. We do not want things to now happen in the reverse, with the other side offering the dead. Honestly, we do not want any more deaths, whatever side they belong to. We are driven by the desire for justice not by stupid revenge". " No more blood. Acteal was a climactic episode, the summary and synthesis of our animosity; but, unfortunately not the last bloody episode in Chiapas". " A genuine coming together of Chiapanecan society requires that we all know the truth about Acteal, El Bosque, and the paramilitary squads".

" We are viewing with optimism the new signals that the federal government has sent regarding the peace process. The re-initiation of the repositioning of troops from the Mexican Army is a positive sign that opens new possibilities for the re-establishment of dialogue and negotiations between the EZLN and the government of the republic". He promised to do everything in his power to create the conditions for renewed peace talks.

During Roberto Albore Guillén’s administration, the Commission for the Remunicipalization, through which new counterinsurgency municipalities were created as a counterpart to the autonomous municipalities of the EZLN, was implemented. In relation to this, Salazar Mendiguchía promised to send to the Official Journal of the Federation a decree that would abrogate the State’s Council and Commission for the Remunicipalization of Chiapas, and stating that these acts lacked a legal basis and that they had become one of the principal obstacles for the pacification process in the state.

Regarding the Zapatistas prisoners, he said: " I wish to reiterate my willingness to take all the necessary steps and cover all the legal procedures to obtain their freedom….and to cancel unjust arrest orders against social leaders".

Referring to the Zapatistas, he stated: "those who did not have any other option went to war, those who were cornered by hunger, authoritarianism, despair, those who thought that it would open a way for the social demands of the poor, those who were tired of waiting, of searching, of negotiating, of promoting, and who only found impenetrable walls confronting their desires. Those who went to war wanted authentic democracy, real peace, freedom without restriction, land for everyone". He said that the gravity of the conflicts in Chiapas are the result of the failure of the federal government to implement the San Andrés Accords; in addition to it acting in open collaboration with authorities and local state power groups that aimed to undermine the zapatistas base". " Stupidly they chose to fight the armed communities, giving military supplies to those communities that had not wanted  to get involved. The State therefore gave up one of its essential attributes, and permitted, or encouraged, depending on the case, the rise of anti-zapatista vandalism".

The day before the swearing in of Salazar, the previous governor, Albores Guillén, announced that he would not attend; but, under pressure from Fox, he relented and attended.  The list of speakers did not take into account the intervention of the president of the Local Congress, PRI Deputy Mario Culebro, who gave a speech in the PRI tradition that angered those present. Albores Guillén paid the political price for this error when he was welcomed with shouts of rat!, dictator!, assassin!. Undoubtedly, they were referring to the evictions in the Autonomous Municipalities of El Bosque, Taniperlas, Tierra y Libertad, Nicolás Ruiz, San Andrés, in addition to the massacres at El Bosque, the unsolved assassinations of Rubicel Ruiz Gamboa, Antonio Gómez Flores;  and the many dead produced by the ambushes and battles that occurred during his administration, not to mention the quantity of dispossessed persons and the expulsion of foreigners who supported the struggle of the indigenous people of Chiapas.

Nevertheless, Pablo Salazar inherits from Albores Guillén serious conflicts for which he has to find solutions since he assumed these commitments during his electoral campaign. These include:

a) The paramilitaries: They represent a danger for his government as all of them are PRI militants who, confronted with the loss of power, represent a factor of political instability and state ungovernability. Moreover the majority of them are supported by PRI municipal presidents and Local Deputies like Raymundo Hernández Trujillo who belong to Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice).

b) Corruption: It is a secret for no-one that all government structures, be they state or federal, are permeated by corruption; and, that this is true more than in any other part for everything regarding the administration and implementation of justice, where the law has the same value as money.

c) Readjustment and division of Political Parties: This is a period characterized by the readjustment of social forces, in which divisions between social organisations and Political Parties are occurring. All the parties in Chiapas have internal fractures. Some complain about having contributed the majority of votes to Salazar Mendiguchía and having obtained in return second class positions in the new state administration. Others accuse each other of having used the parties as a political trampoline for their own gains. As a consequence,  some party leaders are starting to resign. This is the case with Gilberto Gómez Maza of the PRD. It can also be seen in the intention of a group demanding democracy inside their party to occupy a PRI building. The government team of Pablo Salazar suffers from these conflicts and divisions since it is composed of members of PAN, PRD, PT, PVEM, and the PRI, in addition to businessmen, hoteliers, restaurateurs, directors of social organisations etc.

d) Poverty: According to ex-president Zedillo and ex-governor Albores Guillén, Chiapas has been one of the main recipients of financial aid in the country. Nonetheless it continues to be one of  states with the highest rate of marginalization (along with Oaxaca, Guerrero and Hidalgo, where armed guerrilla groups are also present). In these states the main demands continue to be for health, education, work, land, housing etc.

e) Cuts in Federal Funds: As has already occurred in other states, in those places were the opposition won,  economic resources are curtailed, leaving the government with little room for action and creating conflicts between government and social organizations.  As of now, we do not know what the position of Vicente Fox will be in relation to the state government.

f)  EZLN: Salazar is taking charge of a government in the midst of the presence of the EZLN.  The EZLN has a broad base of action; it is present in more than 67 municipalities, and, it is organised into more than 40 autonomous municipalities which are in civil resistance against the government. The EZLN develops their own strategies and has its own organisational dynamic. It receives nothing from the government until the  San Andrés Accords are implemented. Not only that, they also have a military force that demands in its petitions, democracy, justice, freedom, education, land, jobs, housing, health etc.

g) Civil Resistance: Pablo Salazar’s challenge will be to find balanced prices for electrical energy and all the other social utility services such as potable water, land (predio) taxes, etcetera. At present, many organizations, colonies, and communities refuse to pay for these services because they are too expensive and because the economic conditions in which the communities find themselves make it impossible for them to pay. Many of them voted for Salazar.

h) Agricultural Crisis:  Today the low prices of coffee and corn that have resulted from the trade agreements between Mexico, Canada and the United States are some of the most pressing questions for the population of Chiapas. In addition, the drive to diversify crops and the sorry financial situation in which the rural communities and organisations find themselves contribute to this crisis.

i)  Political Prisoners: On August 29, 1996, when the EZLN suspended talks with the government, there were 11 prisoners from EZLN bases of support; today in Chiapas there are 111, and the EZLN has stated that these political prisoners must be freed before peace talks can start again. The process of review of files has already begun. However, if they obtain their freedom, the return to their communities is going to be a challenge since many of them come from the northern area controlled by the paramilitary group Paz y Justicia. Their return will not be facilitated if Samuel Sánchez and the main directors of the UCIAF remain in prison. Decisions about the freedom of the political prisoners and  paramilitary detainees will take place within the framework of impunity, justice, peace and reconciliation. In addition, other organisations like CIOAC, OCEZ, OPEZ, MOCRI, etc. have prisoners for occupation of land, many of whom were unjustly incarcerated.

j) Agrarian Conflict: Chiapas is the state where 27% of all the agrarian conflict in the nation takes place. Much of the conflict stems from the tenancy of land, simulated estates, the same land given to two distinct groups of peasants, presidential resolutions that are not carried out, unresolved expansion of common land, the failure to recognize New Centres of Population, and the occupation of land, without legalizing it, by peasants. For all of the above, the peasants are waiting for answers that other governments failed to give.

In addition, cattle-ranchers from Ocosingo, Altamirano and Las Margaritas are demanding payment for 642 estates taken by the Zapatistas since 1994. These farmers did not ask for payment for their land during the administration of Ruiz Ferro and Roberto Albores since the government was paying them rent through  "foraging credits" with which they bought ranches in Veracruz and Tabasco.

k) The Dispossessed: In Chiapas there are more than 22 000 dispossessed persons who cannot return to their original communities due to the presence of paramilitaries will not allow them to return until they become members of the PRI. Many communities, in this case members of La Abejas community, are hoping that the new government will help them return.

l) Recomposition of social organisations: The fact that some directors of social organisations have assumed positions in the new government will have its effect on the organisations because some of them want to become more powerful and want their leaders to back them in every way. However, this will also have as a consequence demobilisation and contradictions in communities of resistance which do not receive aid from the government. At the same time some organisations will have to train new political personnel to avoid demobilising and having to wait for their leaders to resolve everything from their government positions.

m)  Militarization: Salazar also inherits from Albores Guillén a militarized state police body. Many belong to the Bases of Mixed Operations (BOM). Therefore, one of his tasks will be to withdraw the State Police for Public Security from counterinsurgency duties that were assigned to it by the Army, including acting as immigration agents in the reserves. Furthermore, militarization is also present in government plans and projects for social development. Thus, it will be necessary to demilitarize the institutions dealing with health, housing, credit schemes and everything that the Army presently authorizes, supervises and carries out as "social work", since all of these duties are not legally their concern.

n) Reconciliation: Although the issue of reconciliation amongst different sectors is something that should be resolved within the broader context of the negotiations between the EZLN and the government and in the form of just responses to the demands that originated the conflict, in some regions different sectors seek a reconciliation. For example, the three ARIC of Ocosingo are trying to find a peaceful solution, primarily based on coexistence, necessity and acquired consciousness.

ñ)  The Press: From the moment Pablo Salazar announced that he was going to cut subsidies to the press and that he would not give any more ‘ chayotes’ to journalists, criticism started pouring in  from those journalists and electronic media that were affected by this measure. Salazar will have to sort this out.

Pablo Salazar is faced with many challenges. He will have to find solutions that fall between  the hope for change by the population and the hatred and resentment from those sectors that have seen their power vanish. Nevertheless, it is necessary take into account that the problems that are facing Chiapas, and the country, are of structural and cultural origin. If the citizens of Mexico and Chiapas do not break with the culture of dependency and passivity, then no matter how many changes in governments or political parties there are, we will not be able to achieve the structural , qualitative or quantitative changes that are needed for the construction of a more just and democratic Mexico.