Mexican Leftists in Oaxaca Issue Ultimatum to Governor to Resign within 72 Hours (Translation)

El Universal ( Mexico City ) ^ | October 24, 2006 | Jorge Octavio Ochoa ( translated by self )

[StJacques]

APPO gives ultimatum to Ulises Ruiz to resign within 72 hours

They announce that as of Friday they will put into effect throughout the day a blockade of major highways in all the state and they will maintain the barricades throughout the city

Jorge Octavio Ochoa/Correspondent
El Universal
Oaxaca City, Oaxaca
Tuesday 24 October 2006

1:49 p.m.  As of Friday a blockade of major highways will be put into effect throughout the day in all the state [of Oaxaca], barricades will be maintained throughout the city and for the first time since they began this movement, all the population will be summoned to carry out a boycott against the large shopping malls and transnational chains.

Oaxaca will enter into a virtual state of siege after the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) fixed a term to Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz to resign his position within 72 hours.

. . . see first note . . .

. . . Meanwhile teacher Maria del Carmen Lopez Vasquez, denied [statements of] her union leader Enrique Rueda Pacheco and said that no teacher of the Zimatlan sector has abandoned the premises of the La Ley radio station. She also warned that Rueda's statements are "somewhat personal."

It should be remembered that Rueda Pacheco categorized as "irresponsible" the calls made from that radio station to take the headquarters of the teacher's union last Sunday when it carried out its assembly to decide whether or not to return to classes.

For now, teacher Maria del Carmen Lopez insisted that the radio station's broadcasts are not subject to the control of Section 22.²

In a press conference she also announced that since yesterday afternoon the signal of the station, located in the Reforma colony, began to falter and as of this morning it lost the signal.

In spite of the guarantees offered by APPO that the assembly of Section 22 could be carried out calmly, the conference of said organization began with a small demonstration by a woman who showed a large poster in which she reiterates: "The consultation is rigged for the reason that we have to vote NO to the beginning of the school term, since the traitors are only interested in a yes vote..."³

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Translator's Notes:

¹ I am omitting the 3rd paragraph for redundancy with the 1st. I think there may have been an editing error on the part of El Universal, as it practically restates the 1st paragraph using different verb tenses.

² The SNTE is the acronym for the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (National Union of Educational Workers), whose Section 22 (i.e. "Local 22") in Oaxaca organized the original strike this past May 22 which precipitated the current conflict, later leading to the organization of The Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), which significantly radicalized the situation.

³ APPO hard-liners want the SNTE vote to be a "Yes" or "No" decision about continuing the protest against Ulises Ruiz, not about continuing the strike or returning to school.

[StJacques]

Well; this past Sunday I posted within another thread that "I [was] expecting APPO to attempt something to prevent the teachers from returning." (See my post #4) Now I see what their intentions are. Yesterday they began to weld the iron gates of the schools of Oaxaca City shut and today they are moving to expand their "police power" around the state by seizing major roadways and retaliating against major businesses. I am guessing these actions foreshadow a decision by the teacher's union to end the strike.

[StJacques]

A Mexican Left Watch ping for you all.

Anyone wishing to be added to the ping list may contact me via Freepmail or post within this thread.

[EagleUSA]

I think they are getting tired of the United States offering a better welfare program than Mexico does....they are jealous and losing thier liberal political platform --- :-)

[unkus]

At least Oaxaca is way down in southern Mexico.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Wow. Go for it! The Mayan Empire returns!

[RightWhale]

Revolution customarily begins in Oaxaca and peters out after a while, sometimes after the tourist resorts are trashed.

[mallardx]

I hope this doesn't fan out to L.A., which is in Northern mexico.

[Ben Mugged]

Now Chavez needs to arm the Oaxacans and begin a general insurgency.

[unkus]

LOL-you are right about that, unfortunately..

[StJacques]

"Now Chavez needs to arm the Oaxacans and begin a general insurgency"

What do you mean now? Chavez's last Ambassador to Mexico was kicked out of the country for funneling money to the EPR guerrillas and providing them contacts with the Colombian FARC.

[Ben Mugged]

Mexico has recently shown reticence in dealing harshly with these uprisings. I would guess the burgeoning upper class is getting worried about a general insurgency if they begin a crackdown.

[StJacques]

On Mexican reticence...

I think the recent lessons of Lopez Obrador and the PRD's shutdown of the central business district of Mexico City -- which really angered the Federal District residents, including many who had supported the PRD -- have provided a template for dealing with the Left. The strategy is simply "leave them alone and let everyone see who they really are by what they actually do."

It is worth noting that by doing nothing the federal government has permitted a wedge to be driven between the teacher's union, whose members want to return to work, and APPO, whose real goal is to establish a precedent for the overturning of an election by mass protest, rather than by legal means. The longer this goes on, the more divisions will surface.

The downside of this, of course, is that the certainty of defeat will radicalize APPO even further, which could lead to very serious trouble.

[colonialhk]

Just wait......

[norton]

Why do the terms Menshevik and Bolshevik keep rattling through my brain?(Pardon potential spelling errors, it's been awhile)

[Alia]

It is worth noting that by doing nothing the federal government has permitted a wedge to be driven between the teacher's union, whose members want to return to work, and APPO, whose real goal is to establish a precedent for the overturning of an election by mass protest, rather than by legal means. The longer this goes on, the more divisions will surface

I perfectly concur with your assessment.

[Mr. Jazzy]

Wait, does this mean I won't be able to get my chalupa?


Really.





Damn.

[gotribe]

The Mayan Empire returns!

As long as they don't go sideways with izlam. I like their mole.

[Kenny Bunk]

I was hoping that the Fox and Calderón might have figured out a way to sack this Ruiz idiot by now. Now, they can't look like they're knuckling under ... or can they?

These Obradoristas look like they're on the shorter end of the stick now, which imho, makes them more dangerous. I just feel in my bones that we are looking at a potential FARC North here.

[Alia]

I don't share your worries about FARC north, here. FARC has been watched very closely since the 90s (and before). What freaks out the single-lober "immigration reformists" here are NAFTA and the fact that the Bush Admin has moved the true lines of "defense" farther south. And rightfully so. Even Ole "Hack" used to say "keep 5 yards for yourself". And working with Vicente Fox has been a "horrid" affair for the single-lobers who refuse to understand how "global" affairs work best. Working with Mexico has been far more about protecting the US, than "votes for Bush" as the single-lobers wish everyone to think. The communist "party" has been working very hard in South America to breach the treaties we have with Mexico and very specific "free nation" countries in South America.

OTOH, those of the ilk of Chavez and Morales are losing support in South America. And their allies in Mexico are also losing support. Forcing people to do, vote, or say or believe things AGAINST THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL WILL makes counterrevolutionaries of what might have been "allies". Meaning, the communists pushed too hard.

Tracking the Global Network of Terrorism is a very real matter to the security of the US. Finding their hubs is critical. And it is important to simply "observe" the process of networking within these hubs.

Yes, Kenny Bunk -- it can make one chew one's nails in the interim, or tap one's foot.

[livius]

It was interesting that Spain bailed on the VZ arms and jets deal last week. I was in Spain and followed this in the presss.

Chavez tried to make it sound as if he was the one who was pulling out because the US was trying to stop the deal from happening. We had refused to license the technology - back in January! The French and the Israelis, however, were perfectly willing to sell the technology to Spain for use in VZ planes and offered to do so.

What really happened is that even pro-communist Spain lost confidence in Chavez' ability to pay for the contract. He's tanking.