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Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 17:17:03 -0500
From: Doug Henwood <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Marcos as brand

Rebel Marcos Is Very Marketable

by JULIE WATSON Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Anti-capitalist rebel Subcomandante Marcos, who
wooed the world with his poetic Internet communiques, is on his way
to becoming the most marketable masked man on the planet.

Advertisers have usurped his image to sell furniture, appliances --
even courses in public relations.

A Marcos imitator smoking a pipe sells furniture and appliances on TV
commercials for the Mexican retail chain Viana, negotiating
unbeatable prices for the masses.

A magazine ad for a public relations school pictures the ski-masked
guerrilla fighter wearing a soldier's bandolier, a cellphone and a
microphone headset.

The ad asks: ''Why does he have so much power? A) Because of his
guns? B) Because of his computer? C) Because of his public image?
Answer: His public image.''

A billboard for a home-furnishing store reads: ''We sell everything
from marcos to chapas,'' a play on words meaning from picture frames
to door locks -- but also from Marcos to Chiapas, the southern state
where the rebellion occurred.

Critics fear Marcos' cult of personality will only grow as his Indian
rebel caravan -- dubbed the ''Zapatour'' by local media -- continues
its trek toward Mexico City, home to some 20 million consumers.
Marcos and 23 rebel commanders are to arrive March 11 to lobby for an
Indian rights law.

It is the first time Marcos has emerged publicly from Chiapas since
the Zapatista revolt on Jan. 1, 1994. The caravan, which was in its
fifth day Wednesday, was expected to pass through 12 states on the
way to the capital.

''Nowadays, everyone says they are a Zapatista because it's good for
business,'' said a disgusted rebel supporter, Julio Velasco, 45.

But Velasco has profited, too: On a recent afternoon on Mexico City's
main plaza, he and several other hawkers were doing a brisk business
selling T-shirts, photos, posters and books of Marcos.

''This is different,'' said Velasco, wearing a Lenin button, reading
a Fidel Castro essay and holding a wad of cash. ''We believe in what
we are selling. Those others are rats who've always been part of the
system.''

Analysts attribute the Marcos publicity fervor to the Mexican
government's new attitude toward the rebels under President Vicente
Fox, whose election last year ended seven decades of rule by the
Institutional Revolutionary Party. Fox has made ending the conflict a
top priority and said he welcomes the march as a ''bridge for peace.''

Marcos is not the first revolutionary figure to draw sales. Latin
America's most famous anti-capitalist, Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara,
continues to appear on key chains, T-shirts and posters years after
his death.

Marcos has long received support outside the country -- Oliver Stone
missed the 1996 Oscars to meet with him -- but Mexico's mainstream
society had steered clear of rebel connections, fearful it would
alienate them from the former government.

Despite his overwhelming exposure in television commercials, magazine
ads and billboards, Marcos has remained silent on the matter, and
businesses continue to use his image without permission. In a quirk
in Mexican law, they can continue to do so until he copyrights his
image -- something that would require him to reveal his identity. The
Zapatistas' information center declined comment.

The silence, however, doesn't mean they agree: Shortly after the
uprising, Marcos protested sales of woven Zapatista dolls by local
Indians, saying the dolls disrespected fallen rebels. More than 100
Zapatistas died in the 12-day battle with the government in 1994.

He later dropped the issue when it became clear most of the people
buying the dolls supported the movement.

In 1995, Benetton asked Marcos to appear in one of their
advertisements. But the rebel leader never responded to the offer, a
company spokesman said.

''I'm sure he knows about these ads,'' said Miguel Acosta, a Mexican
pop culture expert. ''But I think he's choosing to ignore them, to
not divert attention away from the essence of the march -- respect
for Indians who are facing losing their culture in a globalized
world.''

It's a dilemma that Marcos, who has waged more of a propaganda war
than a military one, has confronted since the beginning. But now the
stakes are higher and the battleground more difficult, with Marcos
meeting an equally powerful charmer of the masses: Mexico's
cowboy-boot wearing president.

''With the two of them, it's just turned into a big show,'' said Jose
Alfredo Zamora, 21, wearing a Marcos T-shirt. ''At this point, it
just feels like a rock star is coming. I think that's why so many are
buying T-shirts.''

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