[Mexico]'We are like hostages'

OAXACA, Mexico — Should federal troops attempt to wrest control of this southern capital from strikers, they'll face scores of avenues like Calle Almendros, now a gantlet of obstacles designed to slow an advance. Strikers have prepared a 200-yard-long segment by stretching wires across it at neck, ankle and waist height, placing large rocks side-by-side and parking a commandeered school bus sideways to block traffic in both directions.

Like many other streets, it has been fortified with small bunkers made of sandbags and stocked with dozens of bottles for Molotov cocktails. Hundreds of smaller rocks were piled up to be thrown or launched by slings.

"It is sad, because what we are doing is taking on the government — a fight between brothers," said Hipolito Ruiz, a striking teacher who stood guard at a checkpoint. "I should be in the classroom."

Instead, he clutched one of many homemade contraptions — nicknamed "bazookas" — designed to launch oversized bottle rockets. The shoulder-held plastic pipe was stamped "Made in Mexico."

The conflict stemming from the four-month occupation of the city's downtown could be coming to a head, as the federal government is under pressure to act against striking teachers and a leftist coalition formed around them.

A peaceful solution still could be reached, although some observers consider it a long shot. Leaders of the demonstrators late Tuesday said they would not attend a round of negotiations set for today in Mexico City because they believe a military buildup and other elements indicate people in the streets here are not safe from an attack by federal troops. Authorities won't rule out using force.

Flights by military aircraft and the reported deployment of additional troops to nearby army posts have some residents battening down the hatches and strikers and their supporters operating under high alert.

"It is like a psychological war. The rumors are all around: The soldiers are coming or there's a shooting or there is another helicopter," said a mother who sent her 13-year-old daughter to live outside the city to keep her safe.

"It is horrible — everybody is scared," said the woman who, like many, feared reprisals if her name were published.

Tension increased Monday when a group claiming to be an armed resistance unit detonated apparent pipe bombs to destroy the entrances to three banks.

The strikers, part of a coalition known as the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca, or APPO, said it had nothing to do with the attacks.

It said they were likely the work of saboteurs trying to make the movement look radical so the government would send in the army.

Many locals say they've been caught between the strikers and the government as they try to live normal lives.

"No one wants to listen to us," said Margarita Díaz, a housewife, as she sat in her sedan surrounded by thousands of demonstrators marching through the downtown area. "We are like hostages."

The acronym "APPO" is spray-painted on the doors and walls of hundreds of historic buildings here, along with the group's principle demand: the removal from office of Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, who they blame for corruption and repression, including the killing of at least two colleagues.

What started out as an almost routine annual teachers strike for better pay and conditions in May turned radical after state police physically tried to remove strikers from the town square.

Tear gas and screams filled the air, as streets known for handicrafts, food and colonial architecture became a war zone. Members of APPO have since set up barricades to block access to streets — especially after dark — and vow they'll die for their cause if they have to.

Or will Mexican President Vicente Fox, who said Tuesday he wants to avoid bloodshed, let them continue to camp in the streets, operate roadblocks and dispense street justice to perceived enemies and petty criminals?

"I would not discard the possibility of the use of force, mainly because it seems (the strikers are) wanting it to happen," Mexico City-based commentator Ana María Salazar said.

Now that Mexico's controversial presidential election — which led to massive protests in Mexico City — is out of the way, events in Oaxaca have captivated the nation and left demonstrators looking for a place in history, she said.

"There is enough concern this could be contagious to other parts of the nation that they (federal officials) have to do something," Salazar said.

But the movement here has become so entrenched it might not be easy to dislodge.

Raul Samaniego, a former judicial police officer who is now with the National Institute of Criminal Sciences, said problems stem from the federal government's fear of being seen as repressive even when using legitimate force to restore order.

"Now control is at the point of being lost," he said. "It won't be necessary to send in the (federal police). It will be necessary to send in the army."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Express-News Mexico Correspondent Sean Mattson, reporting from Monterrey, contributed to this report.

Lopez Obrador has proven costly for Mexico
There are salient issues that the Mexican news media have failed to either recognize or cover concerning the effects of the ongoing debacle of the Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador movement. I have lived in South America (Bolivia and Brazil) for the better part of 10 years. During that time I saw this exact scenario unfold all too many times.

Ten points to note:

1. The travesty that the Mexican citizen “majority” has been forced to endure at the hands of “minority” PRD factions clearly illustrates how much a general population can be held at siege in the modern era. This siege has been more costly to Mexico City than the Twin Towers disaster of New York City in terms of lost and disrupted commerce. Estimates claim such losses to be in excess of $7 billion.
2. Is there, or shall there be, a federal aid program that will address losses (personal and commercial) on the level of disaster relief for affected parties in the Mexico City and Oaxaca political battlegrounds? Will a plethora of class-action suits be litigated, in which the plaintiffs rightfully withhold their federal tax payments as leverage on settlements related to this problem?
3. Losses to Mexico are not only monetary. Most damaging may be the huge chasm in the populace that resulted from Lopez Obrador’s heretofore unfounded claims of fraud, fault in the electoral system, and general disdain for any of the “rightist” doctrine. These scars on the integrity of the Mexican democratic system might never heal.
4. Even more frightening a prospect than the tangible losses stands the belief that if one considers the Mexican government’s current attitude in addressing social unrest, which allows that these issues must die a natural death, Lopez Obrador has proven that any anarchist or terrorist group could operate with relative impunity on Mexican soil.
One must further acknowledge that the Mexican government offers no guaranteed protection to its general population against damages incurred in the course of civil disruption. How might this affect such factors as attracting foreign investment, the strength of the national currency or its stock market, or even the influx of foreign personal retirement commitments?
5. It would be of eminent importance to examine the details of the funding that went into the creation of this Lopez Obrador machine, to propel such a movement so quickly and on such a scope as the end product became. Is there a clear paper trail on all sources of funding and spending? Would the public be surprised to learn if there are indeed appreciable levels of contributions that could verifiably be traced to rogue governments offshore, or to organized crime?
One fact is obvious: the monetary backing required to fund such a movement in a country as powerful as Mexico could not be gathered through neighborhood cake sales, and it certainly did not come from the poor, whom he claims to champion and, coincidentally, whom he lured, only to be left without bus money for the ride home.
6. On the subject of PRD party coffers, in light of such prolific grounds for civil suits against the party, and individually against some of its leaders, are the present and future financial assets (of the PRD) frozen or even attached by “Lis Pendence”?
7. If you analyze the platform of the two opposing forces in this conflict, allowing that the PRD-Lopez Obrador movement is poised against the centrist-rightist block of basically PAN-PRI interests, one might draw similarities in the activist posture characteristic of most of the revolutionary insurrections that have taken place throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Pro-separatist elements traditionally have a high level of aggression, energy and general disregard for established institutions, similar to the way the PRD is behaving. Stable, established democracies in particular have been slow to acknowledge the seriousness of these insurrections, maintaining a certain complacency in their attitude toward the “rebellious masses.” These vulnerable governments also wished that these problems would die a natural death in a minimal time frame.
This is the classic scenario, or blunder, of underestimating an adversary.
8. The Mexican government, under President Fox, should be applauded profusely by the PRD camp. Rarely has any government of this modern era acted so leniently toward an aggressive, opposing political faction, turning the proverbial other cheek, overlooking blatant assaults and constitutional transgressions, to extend a hand of compromise.
This has left so many people (from both sides of the isle) on the sidelines perplexed in their search to fathom any political logic on the part of the “right” during this struggle.
9. This nightmare issues a loud call for legislative safeguards against such an exercise ever evolving so much out of control again. Surely if one were to extract the letter of the law, whether it be a constitutional provision or municipal ordinance, some manner of prohibitions already exist to protect the public.
However, either the nuances of interpretation or an overriding judicial conflict in existing laws as they are scripted, allowed too much “wiggle room” in the application and enforcement of these laws.
This is a class that acted above the law.
This first-time experience is somewhat plausible; a re-enactment is inexcusable. Felipe Calderon will elevate himself to sainthood if he faces this problem head-on and succeeds in passing constructive legislation to avert such problems from becoming a permanent part of Mexican politics.
10. It is obvious, beyond the charismatic politicalization of the problem, that two truths stare Mexican society square in the face: a.) the government must come to the table to facilitate the construction of a comprehensive plan to address the needs of the marginalized indigenous population, and, b.) Lopez Obrador is not the entity to constructively participate in this process.
PRD’s “rap sheet” of civil and criminal violations
-- Unlawful occupation (and monopoly) of a public space (Zocalo).
-- Aggravated assault on government personnel (Riot at San Lazaro).
-- Disorderly conduct within a government institution (disruption of sixth session of Congress)
-- Illegal disruption of public thoroughfares.
-- Illegal use of public services.
-- Illegal use of public utilities.
-- Fraudulent claims to party participants of gifts of property and housing (at public expense) in return for participation in PRD public gatherings through a contrived point accumulation system.
-- Anarchist tendencies in the drafting of a separate constitution, failure to acknowledge the powers of the IFE, failure to acknowledge the status of the president elect, refusal to enter into constructive dialogue with other established political parties, and the performance of a ceremony of coronation of a separatist government.
-- Dereliction of duty on the part of Mexico City Mayor Alejandro, as a result of his conflict of interests with the job requirements versus the allegiance he held with the PRD, as related to the call to action against those very PRD factions that were causing flagrant violations of civil statutes.
-- The extended use of public campaign funds for activities not directly related to sanctioned political process, rather, for activities that are in conflict with established, constitutionally sanctioned protocol.
-- Alignment with foreign rogue governments, acting in quasi-authoritarian capacity.
-- The intentional and frivolous overloading of the Federal Electoral Court system through the filing of voluminous bogus claims of voting fraud, for the obvious purpose of seeking to create a destabilization of the organized system.
-- The active and blatant promotion of a public insurgency for the purpose of destabilizing the freely elected political system.
-- Civil suit liability against PRD, Lopez Obrador, Encinas, Federal District Gov. Marcelo Ebrard, etc.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/opinions_comments.php?id=73045_0_11_0_C

Octubre 3, 2006
The Problem In Oaxaca

BRINGING YOU AN IN-DEPTH PIECE OF BACKGROUND REPORTING on Oaxacan developments, as understood by one Rebecca Barroso. The Unapologetic Mexican cannot place his sterling silver reputation behind all opinions or facts in this piece, as he has not researched them. But he would be negligent in his duty to the underground newsgathering networks were he not to provide it to you for your own consideration. *Please note that in [brackets] in the final grafs are a handful of words added (by yours truly) for the sake of clarity.

Finally, a tip of the sombrero to our very own mysterious and wild perro del méxico, who has brought this nugget of news to us, straight from the blistering sands of not so faraway lands. El Perro tells us that Rebecca has "good family ties to both PRD and PAN," before settling back down to his rawhide.

The U.S. Department of State issued a Public Announcement alerting U.S. citizens to ongoing demonstrations in Oaxaca, Mexico. U.S. citizens traveling to Oaxaca City should carefully consider the risk of travel at this time due to the recent increase in violence there. This Public Announcement expires Oct. 30, 2006.

Teachers, students, and other groups have engaged in increasingly violent demonstrations in and around Oaxaca City for several months, while leaders of social organizations and teacher unions demand the resignation of Ulises Ruiz as governor of Oaxaca.

The conflict has roots in what was allegedly a fraudulent election, when Ulises Ruiz, the candidate for the PRI party, was named victorious over Gabino Cué, the candidate for the Coalición Todos Somos Oaxaca party.

Apparently, the previous governor José Murat, was set on having Ulises Ruiz, his personal friend, succeed him to the office of governor of Oaxaca. Murat, being a personal friend of the president of the PRI and presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo, was able to afford all the necessary support to give Ulises Ruiz a win in Oaxaca. Ruiz was sworn to office amid public protests.

After Ruiz was elected governor, he tried to dismantle the net of social organizations that leeched off the PRI government through the channeling of heavy sums of public money. Apparently, these payments went to leaders of the organizations to keep under control all kinds of nonconformity; it was money towards oiling the machinery that guarded the social order. Some of these social groups belong to the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO for its acronym in Spanish), which belongs to the Coalition for the Benefit of All and vote for the PRD, yet, expect to receive their monies from the state government in hands of the PRI. Similarly, the teachers of section 22 who always received support from the PRI government also turned their backs on the party as well.

In short, Oaxaca is experiencing nonconformities via three different groups of people: all those trampled by the fraud at the election process; the heads of the social organizations in charge of keeping the peace who used to live off the public monies now denied to them; and the teachers who are requesting an increase in their salaries.

In June, the teachers in section 22 from the National Syndicate of Education Workers and led by Enrique Rueda Pacheco demanded a salary increase and camped out in tents as a protest in the center of Oaxaca City. Hundreds of police attempted to clear them out with tear gas and rubber bullets, while the teachers fought back with sticks and stones, forcing the police to retreat. Protests sparked statewide and nationwide at the prompt use of force and apparent complete disregard for dialogue.

A negotiation commission was formed, but it failed and disintegrated at the lack of accords. Shortly afterwards, the teachers’ movement was radicalized and they added the governor’s resignation to their list of demands.

The government implemented censorship on the local newspaper Noticias de Oaxaca and its offices were raided by members of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Farmers (CROC for its acronym in Spanish), an organization with ties to the government.

Thanks to bad government, the violence used against the newspaper and the teachers, and the lack of political tact shown with the leaders of the social organizations in charge of keeping the peace, the discontent among the population grew exponentially and many more social, political and populist organizations joined the movement.

All groups united and joined the APPO, with their main objective being to unseat the governor. They have led marches, taken government buildings, official vehicles, commercial property and even highways. The conflict has given way to rising extremist sects. Leaders linked to guerrilla groups have sprouted and are instigating violence such as taking over radio stations, while also creating resistance commands and establishing training camps.

Ruiz, while trying to quiet the media and the teachers and trying to disband the old political alliances, only succeeded in unifying all the different groups and associations against him. A legal recourse was introduced in the Congress, requesting them to destitute the governor by declaring the state ungovernable. The Mexican Government Secretariat attempted to resolve the crisis at a negotiation table where APPO representatives gave testimony. However, in the end, neither the state government nor the federal government arrived to any conclusion.

The APPO not only took over government buildings, but has left the public schools with no classes for a long time, has closed roads and highways, taken tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and other establishments in Oaxaca City, but they also threatened to march into Mexico City in protest, promising to camp outside the Senate and several embassies, and advising they will bring children to discourage police action against them.

The government of Mexico City said they will respect all peaceful demonstrations, but urged the federal government and the state of Oaxaca’s government to resolve the conflict that has already spread to the nation’s capital, along with all the undesirable consequences it brings. There is a palpable fear that public forces will be used to impose order, which could be dangerous. The use of force was precisely the issue that exacerbated the initial problem to begin with, which started out as a salary rise request, should have been solved in less than 30 days of negotiations.

By now, however, the protesting movement is dividing. The teacher leaders have conferred among their group to see if they should go back to the schools on Oct. 2, even if the original salary increase demand is not granted. The APPO took this as a betrayal to the movement and the tension increased with the question of how far is everyone willing to go. The teachers do not want to take extreme action, but everyone else does.

The government of Oaxaca officially requested the use of federal public force to restore order. According to people close to Mexican President Vicente Fox, he will do everything possible to resolve the crisis in Oaxaca via dialogue, negotiation and political accords. However, [they say that] if in a reasonable amount of time there is no other option, he will consider the possibility of implementing force. [These same sources claim that] what Fox wants is for Calderón to start his presidency with a clean slate and to leave him without problems. If there are any political costs involved in imposing the peace, [they claim that Fox] wants to bear the brunt of those, not pass them on to Calderón.

Fox insists the government will not depose Ulises Ruiz, regardless of the fact that he’s responsible for the crisis in Oaxaca, because [he believes that doing so] would be assisting a coup. [Fox's position is that] to deliver the head of Ulises Ruiz would be to recognize that Mexican democracy is going in reverse.

[His reasoning is that] if the federal government falls victim to pressure from groups who consistently break the law, trample all rules of engagement, use violence freely to take over government property, private property, communications media equipment and offices, and tourism-oriented businesses, then it sets a precedent and the next to fall could be the incoming president, Felipe Calderón.

In the meantime, the PRI is analyzing how to negotiate a resignation from Ulises Ruiz. If he should renounce, the office of governor of Oaxaca could go to Gabino Cué, the senator who lost to Ulises Ruiz in the elections.

______

I would only add (Nezua, here) that according to yesterday's broadcast of the Flashpoints Radio show (sombrero tip to commenter Arcturus), the march mentioned in the article above ("they also threatened to march into Mexico City in protest") is already a reality! 4,000 people are marching 300 miles to Mexico city as we speak. You can listen [11 MB] and form your own opinion, or check it out at the Flashpoints site, where you can stream it.

http://www.theunapologeticmexican.org/elgrito/2006/10/the_problem_in_oaxaca.html

I found this interesting although I cannot vouch for the writer or the accuracy of this.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Oaxaca, Mexico:Guerrillas raising their ugly heads

Three banks in Colonia Reforma were attacked yesterday morning between 7:00 and 8:30 AM. A group calling itself the Organización Revolucionaria Armada del Pueblo de Oaxaca (ORAPO) has claimed responsibility. The group blew open the front entrances of all 3 banks, carried off anything not nailed down, and left a "manifesto" behind to explain their civil activism.

In the manifesto, the group claimed, among other things:
"We are prepered to fight with weapons, down to our bare hands if necessary, to defend the Oaxacan populace from the constant aggression. This is the first manifesto and the biginning of a series of pending actions to defend Oaxaqueñans from whatever aggressions by police and paramilitary groups."

APPO, of course, immediately denied any responsibility and blamed the state government.

It would not be beyond the realm of possibility to suspect state government involvement. If anything is going to push president Fox to send in federal troops, it would be the threat of a guerrilla uprising inside the capitol city. However . . .

At the same time, the virulently anti-government local daily "Noticias" was distributing in its morning edition a letter supposedly received from the EPR (Popular Revolutionary Army), a well known and well armed guerrilla group. The EPR threatens to: "initiate a new phase in the class struggle" and bring on a "bloodbath" to the PRI and the PAN political parties. The letter, supposedly from The EPR's "Zonal Military Command", blames the problems in Oaxaca on an unholy alliance of the Catholic Church, the PAN, the PRI, president-elect Felipe Calderón, the television networks Televisa and TV Azteca, "illustrious" analysts and commentators, paramilitary groups, provacateurs, informants, the military-police apparatus, state Congressmen and Senators and judges and magistrates. Whew! Glad they didn't mention Preident Bush.

Again, if anything is going to force Fox's hand, threats from armed guerrilla groups should do the trick.

http://markinmexico.blogspot.com/2006/10/oaxaca-mexicoguerrillas-raising-their.html

Oaxaca, Mexico: President Fox and his cabinet draw the line

In two speeches yesterday by Mexico's President Vicente Fox and by his Secretary of Government, Carlos Abascal, firm threats were made to end the anarchy gripping the state of Oaxaca. They have now openly threatened to impose a "peaceful occupation", what we would call martial law.

First, Fox:
"There still exists the possibility of some negotiated settlement and we are going to insist upon it, that some agreement is reached and that things are resolved in this manner.

If not, then lawbreaking must always be confronted and must be punished."
Then later, Abascal was even more to the point:
"If neither Ruiz (the governor) nor APPO (the anarchists) trust in the other's structures to guarantee security to the Oaxacan citizens, then, naturally, we (the federal government) could occupy the state capitol in a peaceful manner, putting a stop to the aggression by both parties and giving the citizens space to carry on with their daily lives with a sense of security."
Abascal responded to questions about the military presence outside the city and the frequent overflights by military aircraft. He said that it was only responsible to compare the members of APPO with criminals who had taken over someone's home by force.
"Suppose a group of attackers assaulted and took over my home. Then the occupiers heard sirens and helicopters outside. Then suppose they began to complain about being held hostage inside my home.

By God! We're going to put things here in their proper context

Those who are the criminals here are those who have taken over my home, those who have held hostage one million three hundred thousand schoolchildren as well as the citizens of Oaxaca. So it seems infantile to me to complain, 'Oh! We (APPO) are being held hostage.'"

News sources are claiming that the plans for the occupation of Oaxaca by federal forces have already been set and are awaiting orders by the president to move into the city.

http://markinmexico.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.