Webb-Pullman: Oaxaca - Another Day, Another Death

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Alejandro´s wife shown pictures of her husband and his assassin to delegates at the APPO forum in Oaxaca.

Yesterday in Oaxaca, delegates to the APPO National and International Forum were outraged when news came that one of their members had just died, after being shot in the head by police in the early hours of that morning.

The latest victim of Ulises Ruiz was Alejandro Garcìa Hernàndez, shot in the head in front of his wife and two sons as he manned a barricade in Oaxaca. Alejandroa had opened the barricade to allow an ambulance to pass through, but when another vehicle tried to enter, he said they could not pass. The driver, a member of the military, jumped out of the vehicle and began shooting, hitting Alejandro and another man in the head.

In the ensuing fracas, the soldier dropped personal papers, which were seized by others at the barricade. He has been identified as Jhonatan Rìos Vasquez.

Alejandro's body was taken to Oaxaca Red Cross, where an autopsy was performed, then family members and compañeros from the APPO carried his coffin to the Zòcalo, for an overnight vigil.

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Father, sons, and supporters carry Alejandro´s coffinn from the Red Cross to the Zovalo late last night.

Today his body is being carried through the streets to the barricade, before reaching his home.

This latest atrocity is the final straw for the people of Oaxaca, and quite possibly the people of Mexico. The links between the repression and corruption of the Ruiz adminisrtration in Oaxaca and that of the forces that assisted Calderon to seize national power in fraudulent elections are all part of the growing chain that may finally choke the last gasps of right-wing corruption, exploitation and oppression in this country.

Next week will see national demonstrations of outrage at this latest example of the abuses of human rights that have become every-day occurrences in Mexico. It is not only the Zapatistas of Chaipas and the APPO of Oaxaca who are crying Ya! Basta! All of Mexico is joining the call, and the illegitimate governments of Ruiz and Calderon ignore it at their peril.

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Alejandro´s grandfather addressing the mourners outside the Government Offfices in the Zòcalo, where the coffin was placed for an overnight vigil.

ENDS

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