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Sorry, hadn't seen the other post. I take the APPO as less sinister than you do, since I see it more as a loosely organized -- and typically Mexican -- temporary coalition of several different groups ... the teachers' union (whose fights have been going on for years), the majority that thinks Ulizes Ruiz' 2004 election was fraudulent (I agree with them... and don't know any observers in Mexico who think his election was kosher), and the Oaxancas who were upset over mismanagement and fraud in the city's urban beautification project -- which favored the big money interests over the small merchants (like urban renewal projects around the world).

Jetting back and forth to Mexico City isn't sinister. That's normal during union-government negotiations of this kind. I agree that the SNTE teacher who was shot probably was shot by an APPO supporter -- which means the suspect is a lot of people in that State. On the other hand "agents provacatuers" have a long and dishonorable history in Mexico, and the Governor's attempts to use police agents to create violence at the demonstration outside his hotel a few weeks ago raises some eyebrows. Really, though, one or two deaths in a 6 month civil demonstration is a very, very, very low level of violence.

I've been talking on and off with several people in the State, especially foreigners. They all agree it's safe to visit, though they worry about the future, naturally.

I will never defend Ulises Ruiz, whether on the subject of the honesty of his 2004 election or any other, so I have no qualms with your take on him. But even though Ruiz likely came to power by virtue of fraud, there are laws on the books to handle that and demanding that existing laws be ignored is a recipe for anarchy. And the Governmental Secretariat of the Mexican federal government (Segob) offered a referendum vote on Ruiz as part of a negotiated settlement with APPO and the SNTE that was refused. That suggests that APPO's goal is to create a situation in which the "law is what they say it is" and not what is written down, which I regard as an extremely radical position. They could have gotten Ruiz out of office by accepting the deal, since the federal government offered guarantees of election monitors and more, but they refused.

I don't propose the notion of "jetting back and forth to Mexico City" as anything sinister. I am raising the question of APPO's funding, because the organization has just come together and its breadth of operation, as demonstrated by the travels of its leadership, requires extensive funding. The SNTE is not providing the means either, that has already been made clear. Just where APPO's money is coming from is a valid issue here.