I thought so too, but another commenter here found that they were repeatedly reported on during that time, just not tagged as the main subject of the articles. (But maybe this change still does reflect a different level of editorial interest in them during that time.)
Sure, but how many column inches did those articles occupy? And how does that compare to the number of column inches dedicated to consumer capitalist interests?!
</chomsky>
The goalpost has now moved, and the new question is obviously impossible to answer.
It's also worth noting that "consumer capitalist interests" is a term I've never heard and, more importantly, neither has Chomsky, who never used the term.
https://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/zapatista-nationa...
though strangely apparently not between 2005 and 2017.