Subcommandante Marcos, the masked, mysterious leader of the Zapatista Rebels of southern Mexico is stepping down after 20-years.  He citied vague “internal changes” but denied a shift in the group’s Leftist ideology or illness had anything to with the decision.

In fact, Marcos revealed that rumors of his ill health were actually co-opted by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) for its own advantage.

“The last great trick of the hologram was to fake a terminal illness and deaths,” he told some 3,000 rebels and supporters who were attending a ceremony in the town of La Realidad for a EZLN member who was reportedly killed in a clash with a farmers’ group.  “Those who loved and hated Subcomandante Marcos now know that they hated and loved a hologram.”

Once an international media darling, this weekend’s was the first public appearance by Marcos in five years.  He wore the mask and puffed a pipe like the old days, but was seen wearing an eye patch as well.

“The voice of the Zapatista National Liberation Army will no longer come from my voice,” Marcos said, adding that an indigenous EZLN member called Moises was promoted to “subcomandante” in February.

“The handover of command is not due to illness or death, not to an internal shift, purge or purification,” Marcos assured.  The EZLN will continue its course of anti-globalization, indigenous rights, and Socialism.

The Zapatistas came into being in southern Chiapas state, one of the poorest regions of Mexico, on the same day the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect in 1994.  The initial rebellion left dozens of people dead.  Although the government signed a peace deal, it reneged on its end.  So since then, the Zapatistas have more or less established their own autonomous justice, health and education systems in 30 communities.