Nancy Davies: Oaxaca's Cry For Independence

"I'll just offer an observation," writes Nancy Davies in her latest commentary from Oaxaca for Narco News, "which is that Oaxaca state is now governed by the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO in its Spanish initials), not the PRI."

As Mexicans everywhere celebrated their country's Independence Day this weekend, Oaxaca remained in suspense as both sides of the conflict - the vast majority of the people, and a hated governor surrounded by his few supporters - asked the federal government to do something. This has included negotiations between movement leaders and Santiago Creel (currently head of the National Action Party's Senate delegation, best remembered for his role in the coup-like "desafuero" against Andrés Manuel López Obrador while he was President Fox's interior secretary). All Creel's offers so far have been rejected by the people as bribery, as have offers for a resolution from the current interior secretary, Carlos Abascal.

Davies writes:

"My crystal ball says Calderón will let Oaxaca go by default, in order to keep up his pretense of governing the nation. Units of the Mexican Army from the 57th Infantry Battalion, whose base is in Pinotepa Nacional, a southwestern city, have been sighted around the state in mountain areas since August 21. In the municipality of Santiago Ixtayutla the authorities solicited an explanation but received none. In the North Sierra the situation is much the same. Despite the pronounced fear of the presence of the military in Oaxaca, I don't envision a major military repression while the remainder of Mexico is on the verge of a massive popular movement toward political and economic change. The government de facto is already the APPO.

"For Oaxaca with its economy wrecked, it will be tough going to play in this tournament until December. Many people favoring the PAN hope for an attrition that will leave the APPO, and Section 22 of the teachers union, crippled. The Segob's previous offers have been largely economic bribery, having to do with teachers' salaries and federal funds with no guarantee that such funds would go anywhere other than into the pocket of URO or his likely clone. As bribery, such offers are inadequate, and as politics, they are horrible. On Friday the 15th Creel outlined three options he can present to the national Senate, and all are methods of creating a commission to discuss what can be done. On the other hand, the longer the federal government stalls, the more entrenched the popular government becomes."

Read the full story in The Narco News Bulletin:

http://www.narconews.com/Issue43/article2078.html

From somewhere in a country called América,

Dan Feder
Managing Editor
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com

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