Oaxaca Stands up — Fox Sends Death Squads & Troops
The first attacks were reported early this morning, around 10 am when unknowns attacked Radio Universidad with heavy gunfire. This radio is under control of students and members of the Popular Assemly of the Pueblos of Oaxaca, APPO. This group is movilized since jun 14, when the Governor of the state, Ulises RuÃz Ortiz attempted to repress teachers protesting in demand of a raise in salaries and for better conditions. Eventhough the use of force was brutal, the police failed to expell the teachers from downtown where they had been camping. This provoqued a huge popular movement wich demanded the Governor to resign.
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Mexican President Vicente Fox ordered federal forces to the state of Oaxaca to restore order following the deaths of three people, including a U.S. photographer, in a clash yesterday between protesters and gunmen.
The forces will gather in Oaxaca City, the capital city where protesters have blocked the downtown for almost 160 days, according to an e-mailed statement from the president’s office.
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Chris:
I heard the news of the death of the NYC IMC journalist late last night. As is to be expected the major news organizations that are bothering to report on the situation are careful to characterise the incident as a “shootout” and they don’t know who fired first.
28 October 2006, 6:39 pmActually, judging by the photographs of the reporter’s killers I’d say he shot first - with his camera. Then he was gunned down in cold blood.
Indy journalists and transcriptions from the radio broadcasts would suggest that those defending the barricades are armed with sticks, slingshots and maybe some ‘cocktails’. They are seriously outgunned and the “media” is doing its usual bang-up job of demonizing the demonstrators.
Watched The Revolution Will Not Be Televized last night and the events in Oaxaca remind me of the shootings in Venezuela and the misreporting by the private media.
Although it’s tragic perhaps the death of a White American Male will bring some attention to a situation that most of the country/world was happy to ignore when only Mexican teachers and “Leftists” were being killed, injured and disappeared.
Chris:
I have watched this final video taken by the slain IMC Journalist Brad Will and it isn’t easy going.
http://salonchingon.com/cinema/brad.php?city=ny
I still recommend it. Although one may feel like something of a “casualty vampire”, as Jello Biafra puts it, I feel it is important to expose ourselves to the images that he died filming. It’s not about sensationalism and voyeurism. It’s about bearing witness.
30 October 2006, 1:15 pmThere are some rough translations posted around the net of the final moments. I don’t speak spanish and would love to hear/read a translation of the first half of the video as well.
Major assaults on the barricades have taken place overnight and through this morning. There is still active resistance though. Attempts to bring pressure on Mexican consulates and embassies with the goal of forcing the resignation (at least) of Governor Ruiz are underway.
Julio:
Chris:
> Although it’s tragic perhaps
> the death of a White American
> Male will bring some attention
> to a situation that most of the
> country/world was happy to
> ignore when only Mexican
> teachers and “Leftists†were
> being killed, injured and
> disappeared.
Just to note that the movement started with the clash between the teachers’ union (Oaxaca section) and the governor Ulises RuÃz over pay, benefits, working conditions, and the allocation of the state education budget. But it then evolved into a conflict between the APPO (an organization that represents many towns and neighborhoods in the whole state, named (in English) the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca — something much wider.
As it often happens in popular movements, the expectations of the original leadership have been overflown. The leadership itself has ended up transformed in the process with the emergence of spontaneous grassroots activism and initiative. Yes, students, teachers, and radicals have played a big role, but a lot of the acts of resistance, collective and individual, have been spontaneously staged by regular people. The old grievances have erupted. And the people are showing a tremendous amount of tactical resourcefulness. There seems to be a big sense of pride by the people as a result of their experience running their public affairs without the official government in the way.
Yes, the PFP (the federal cops) are taking over downtown Oaxaca City and jailing all the leaders (with or without quotation marks) they can catch, taking them to the army quarters in the outskirts to “interrogate” them. The scenes they’ve shown on Mexico’s TV will prove to be to Vicente Fox what the scenes pulling down the statue of Saddam Hussein in a Baghdad plaza were to Bush in 2003. But then Oaxaca will be to Felipe Calderón and the PFP what Iraq has become to Bush and the U.S. armed forces. There’ll be a Oaxaca quagmire, sooner rather than later — all proportions kept.
30 October 2006, 2:41 pm