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This is just an update on what news is available so far as to the progress of the meeting of the SNTE scheduled in Oaxaca City today. Briefly; it appears that APPO has organized some 200 SNTE members -- there are tens of thousands of SNTE members striking in the state right now -- and has taken over the hotel where the meeting is scheduled to take place. They are apparently intimidating CCL-affiliated members from arriving to participate in the "consultation" they were supposed to undertake today.

There are two articles up on the El Universal web site with information.

The first, whose title translates as "Teachers impede assembly in Oaxaca," gives the following:

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Teachers Impede Assembly in Oaxaca

At least a hundred teachers surround the union hotel where they will carry out a consultation to determine the date of the return to classes; the nonconformists are accusing their leader of betraying them

Jorge Octavio Ochoa / Correspondent
El Universal (Mexico City)
Oaxaca City, Oaxaca
Saturday 21 October 2006

12:13 p.m.The assembly of Section 22 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) has not been able to begin this morning due to the fact that the old hotel of this union finds itself surrounded by more than a hundred teachers who find themselves angry with their leader, Enrique Rueda Pacheco.

In the inner door of the dilapidated building, in the alleyway of Montes de Oca and the Boy Heroes a forceful slogan surfaced: "Rueda, traitor to the movement," on other large posters they also asked "Rueda what was your price?"

The two accesses to Section 22's hotel were watched over by extremely irritated senior members of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) who in their slogans also shouted "Rueda Pacheco, you are playing us crooked."

Around 11:45 a.m. a violent incident was recorded between two teachers and one of them screamed "You are with the CCL (Central Council of Struggle), you only came to provoke us!"

Some teachers in the immediate vicinity tried to prevent photographers from capturing the incident.

According to unconfirmed reports, the leaders of APPO offered to establish a circle of security to the union to permit the beginning of the assembly.

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In a second article, whose translated title is "Rueda maintains that they will have their assembly in Oaxaca," Rueda Pacheco insists that the assembly will be held today, though he gives no particulars. But he gave this information by telephone and, by the time of the article, had not yet shown up at the hotel. And, as an almost perfect example of "newspeak," the APPO head of security said that "every organization must make its decisions in a free and sovereign manner, without any pressure to make them act in one form or another." Yeah, right!

So; I don't know anything more than the above. But I'll keep an eye out for updates. I will say that I suspect the meeting will not be held and that there are private consultations taking place out of APPO's sight, because the SNTE may fear violence at APPO's hands. But that's just a guess on my part.

"This is why the refusal of APPO and the SNTE to accept the referendum offer made by Segob is so significant." Actually, my reply was to one of your earlier posts. I'm not sure a referendum is legally binding in Mexico, which may be a factor in its rejection.

I'm a logical person, and I always wondered why it was that we had drug cartel mansions within a mile of the border?
How come we don't see them bombed by our black ops guys or the Mexican government?
Why are they allowed to stand?

Point 1) My logic says it is because they have great influence within the Mexican government or may even be the actual government in fact.

Point 2) Now we have what I consider problems with a communist issue in Mexico.
I now look back and think I am realizing the reason the USA left the drug cartels standing in Mexico is they are the ones fighting a communist takeover of Mexico.

Seems the USA government may have seen what was happening and ahead more than most of the citizens.

Just my take, but I find it interesting. (or at least curious).