Narconews: An Affront to the People of Oaxaca

The struggle of the Oaxacan Peoples continues. Commentator Nancy Davies reports that on November 25 the Popular Assembly of the Peoples' of Oaxaca (APPO) staged their seventh megamarch demanding the removal of Governor Ulises Ruiz Oritiz, as well as protesting the presence of the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) in their city.

Davies reports:

"Saturday had seen the historic center of Oaxaca erupt into war, with Oaxaqueños fighting the police forces of the federal, state and city governments, plus unknown numbers of PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) loyalists who wore civilian clothes. According to an article in Noticias on November 25, and repeated in La Jornada, more than 200 ministerial police (Policía Ministerial de la Procuraduría General de Justicia de Oaxaca, PGJO) in Oaxaca are more or less "out of control." They are allegedly the ones responsible for the lightning- strike detentions of members of the APPO and members of other organizations who oppose Ulises Ruiz. They are commanded by the Oaxaca government.

"...The federal government investigators agreed there is a state of ungovernability in Oaxaca which 'cannot be solved by police actions, but only by obtaining and administering justice, social development, infrastructure and education; but in this moment the conditions are not there and the capacity to do these things is not there because the social justice demands of the APPO, and the organizations that belong to it, have been fully validated.'

"...At about 5:00 the PFP began to react to the protesters. In my opinion, there were some young people present who wanted to go beyond verbal insults and attack the PFP so as to drive them from the zocalo. Furthermore, there is no doubt that some of the protagonists were infiltrators who sparked the physical fighting. During this time the APPO, by way of radio broadcasts. was asking for a pacific and calm protest. Given that there had been sexual abuse of Oaxaca women by police the day before, and that the numbers of the PFP had increased, it did seem inevitable that confrontation would erupt. By 2:00 the usually busy pedestrian streets were deserted, and virtually all the shops surrounding the zocalo were locked.

"...In the face of the overwhelming attacks, the APPO decided to retreat from the field, which happened around 10:00 PM, with the now- famous 'La Doctora' of Radio Universidad assuring her listeners that the shame fell on the government, not the people, who struggle with dignity for their rights. Many people took refuge in friendly homes and were able to avoid the police sweeps."

With Felipe Calderon taking the Presidency on December 1, protests and mobilizations led by the APPO, despite claims by Governor Ruiz that the situation is over, have been called to continue this week in order to maintain pressure on the Mexican Federal Government.

Read more on this story and other news from Latin America on The Narco News Bulletin:

Update on Oaxaca
Government Launches New Aggression Against the Popular Assembly Movement

By Nancy Davies
Commentary from Oaxaca
November 27, 2006
http://www.narconews.com/Issue43/article2393.html

An Affront to the People of Oaxaca
A Chronicle of the Battle of November 25

By Nancy Davies
Commentary from Oaxaca
November 27, 2006
http://www.narconews.com/Issue43/article2390.html

From somewhere in a country called América,

David B. Briones
Webmaster
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com

© Scoop Media