The Oaxaca Crisis

The origins of the current conflict in the city of Oaxaca began in May, with what intended to be a peaceful demonstration of teachers demanding higher salaries. Within one month, on June 13th, state police surrounded the 30,000 thousand teachers to try to break up the protest, as ordered by the controversial Governor Ulises Ruiz. By August, teachers seized twelve radio stations to send messages of defiance against Governor Ruiz, a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) party, urging him to resign. Besides giving inadequate attention to teachers, the protestors, now a diverse group of teachers, women’s rights groups and Indigenous Peoples groups, want Governor Ruiz ousted from power because of his repressive policies and his alleged rigging of the 2004 elections. Now in October, with children still out of school since May, the pressure increases and the fight becomes more politically focused.

The protestors’ standoff in the Zócalo, the main square in the city, ruptured this past Sunday when President Vicente Fox called for a raid on the city by federal officers. According to the Mexican government, the reason to intervene and send troops was necessary to secure safety in the area, control the protestors, and prevent any more killings, especially after two protesters and an American activist working as a journalist were killed on Friday. Many protestors claim the state officers are responsible for these deaths.

The arrival of 3,000 federal troops into the city on Saturday was the catalyst and added to the already burning fire. Within twenty-four hours riot police pushed protestors out of the Zócalo, but only to have them scatter throughout the surrounding streets. Police took guard behind their shields, responding to protestors’ attacks with water cannons and tear gas. Protestors resorted to burning nearby cars; public buses and one group even hijacked a bulldozer and doused it with gasoline.

Governor Ruiz in the past worked to avoid this exact kind of protest, by prohibiting marches or protests that were often in response to his repressive policies. “He didn’t realize it, but he was closing the escape valves that let the pressure off,” declares Flavio Sosa, head of the New Left of Oaxaca and a leader of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO). The leftist driven APPO, a coalition of 350 teachers and social movements from Oaxaca, joined in the teacher’s protest in June. The APPO is also demanding attention from the federal government to develop Oaxaca, one of the poorest states in Mexico.

In regards to the past conflicts, not all citizens of Oaxaca agree with the desperate measures taken by many protestors. A group of residents dressed in white, as a symbol of peace, marched in support of Gov. Ruiz and thanked the Federal Preventative Police force for coming in to help save the distressed city.

According to a recent October 31 article from a Cuban newspaper, members of Congress are ruling that Ruiz leave his post and regain control of Oaxaca. Many Oaxacans see the legislative decision as a violation of “the sovereignty of the state of Oaxaca,” but country officials demand that classes in schools be reestablished and therefore the federal government must intervene. On a side note, the Mexican economy is feeling the affects of the conflict. The Mexican peso lost ground after federal police stormed the city’s center on Sunday.

Since protestors are currently out of the main square, this once popular tourist spot is slowly regaining its claim to fame. As noted in a New York Times article late this evening, many residents and visitors who have not visited the Zócalo since the protestors’ occupation in May, are returning and noticing change. Graffiti covered facades are being painted over, as tourists sit on benches and police officers take breaks to rest and admire indigenous art.

President Fox claims he will try to end the conflict before he leaves office on December 1. Yet, many officials are beginning to think that the incoming President-elect Felipe Calderon will only inherit the Oaxaca crisis. Inevitably, the people of Oaxaca are the ones in control and will rage a revolution to maintain free expression and guarantee political equality in their city. Protestors currently have their operations base in Oaxaca University and its radio station. In an article published earlier today, protestors are using the university radio station as a stronghold to continue disseminating their message to mobilize the population.