Government, Rebels Hold Formal Talks

The government and peasantbacked rebels are making a new effort to end a lingering rebellion which has fed worries of Mexican instability in the midst of economic crisis.

Government and rebel negotiators met Sunday to set a time, place and agenda for talks aimed at ending the 16-month-old uprising, one of several factors behind the shake-up of the Mexican economy since December.

The meeting, in the village of San Miguel west of Ocosingo, involved the first formal talks between the government and the Zapatista National Revolutionary Army in more than a year.