Swiss parliamentarians have spoken of an improvement in the political climate in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, following a visit to the region.

A member of the House of Representatives, Lucrezia Meier Schatz, said that following presidential elections, the delegation had encountered widespread hopes for change. She said belief in the future was tangible.

The Swiss mission, including two parliamentarians and the secretary-general of the Swiss Bishops Conference, was the fourth to the troubled region in the past two years.

The delegation held talks with government and opposition officials, as well as human rights organisations, and visited ethnic Indian refugee camps.

Meier told the Swiss news agency a great deal more would have to be done to ensure the Indians had a dignified existence, and allow them to return to their villages.

She said a lot of hopes were being pinned on the local elections in two weeks' time. But, she said, there were fears the Institutional Revolutionary Party would try to fix the outcome.

swissinfo with agencies

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