he Zapatista rebels of southern Mexico have a secret weapon, one that has caught the Mexican government by surprise. It's the Internet, which allows them to use words more effectively than most armies use tanks and artillery. Zapatista communiques, signed by the enigmatic Subcomandante Marcos, seem more like the writings of a compelling essayist than of a revolutionary leader. Despite the government's efforts to silence them, the Zapatistas keep shooting their messages over the Internet from their bivouacs in the mountains of Chiapas.

The Zapatista website Ya Basta ("Enough Already") has attracted the attention of journalists and ordinary people around the world. Some visitors to the site have been so moved by the rebels' (mostly nonviolent) struggle that they've gone to Chiapas and joined "peace brigades," placing themselves between Mexican soldiers and the Mayan peasants.

One urgent online call for medical assistance brought countless offers of help within hours. Before the Net became equally available to one and all, governments could more easily control the flow and content of information, stories, and requests for assistance from war zones. In its conflict with the Zapatistas, the Mexican government has discovered -- as all governments are discovering -- that brute force can no longer gag dissent. After nearly two years of negotiations with the government, Subcomandante Marcos has come to rely more and more on worldwide public opinion as the story of the Chiapas Mayans is publicized on the Net.