Mexico Backs Away From Confrontation

President Ernesto Zedillo reined in his hunt for leaders of a peasant rebellion Tuesday, ordering soldiers to avoid a confrontation to give the rebels another chance to make peace.

Zedillo called on the rebel leader, Subcommandante Marcos, to clarify his intention to find a peaceful solution.

“The government of the republic has the obligation to abide by and enforce the law, but the government of the republic also has the right to seek a political and peaceful solution to the conflict,” Zedillo said in Mexico City, according to the official Notimex news agency.

Also Tuesday, the governor of Chiapas state stepped down. When he was sworn in two months ago, Eduardo Robledo Rincon had offered his resignation in exchange for peace with the rebels, who contend he was elected fraudulently.

The Chiapas Legislature approved Robledo Rincon’s request to leave office and named a federal congressman, Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro, as interim governor.