Oaxaca, Mexico Update: Still a Ticking Time
Bomb
Tensions remain high in Oaxaca,
Mexico, although multiparty talks (seemingly without much involvement of the state government) are reportedly making progress. Yet while the negotiations may be leading towards an end to hostilities, the protesters’
demands for the removal of Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz remain firm and constant. On
a different tact, it appears that schools could reopen soon. Too, some of the
negotiations seem to have taken a turn towards insuring dissidents’ goals to avoid possible prosecution and jail when
the actions come to an end. The following edited updates, as of October 9, are
from late breaking Mexican media reports.
— Compiled
by Barnard Thompson
• October 9, 12:10 pm, Mexico City – At noon today the federal Secretariat of Government began
its eighth meeting with teachers from Section 22 of the SNTE and members of the APPO, to discuss ways to end the conflict
that has been going on for almost four months. Representatives of the two groups,
who came to Mexico City to meet with SG Secretary Carlos Abascal, brought a three page document to Abascal, their plan for
talks in Oaxaca, with Oaxacans, that if accepted could be put in place by October 12, in the city of Oaxaca. The SG has offered the APPO and Section 22 teacher’s federal exemption from charges tied to killings
and other unspecified crimes with respect to integrants of the movement, and full reinstatement of dissident teachers’
salaries. In a previous document signed by Abascal, members of the Oaxaca movement
were informed that, among other things, an audit of the current government, headed by Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, as well
as previous state governments, is already underway. All of the federal government’s
commitments “would coincide with the APPO and Section 22 stopping any and all actions that assault the rights of third
parties, plus the return of private property such as vehicles, hotels and radio stations, as well as public installations
that are currently being occupied, (and) removal of the barricades.” – El Universal
·
October 9, Oaxaca – Archbishop of Oaxaca José Luis Chávez Botello warned
that in Oaxaca “the conflict has reached its climax: the forces of evil have been unleashed, some to defend created
interests at all cost and others seeking to carry us to a social disaster.” The
Bishop said that a decisive week is beginning, one with serious risks. “The
conflict could bring about life or death; we the majority want life.” – Diario de Yucatán
·
October 9, Oaxaca – Following in the footsteps of Section 22 of the SNTE,
the APPO rejected the proposal presented by SG Abascal, and decided to submit a counterproposal with the main demand continuing
to be a change of administration in Oaxaca and/or the dismissal of Governor Ulises Ruiz. – La Jornada
·
Oaxaca – The APPO, four months after having been provisionally formed in order
to bring together nonconforming social organizations in the state, and to support the mobilization of teachers, has now approved
an ideological proposal and an action plan. According to the announcement for
its Constituent Assembly, that will take place on November 10, 11 and 12, the APPO seeks to become “a democratic alternative
in order to establish a new social pact, a new form of government, in a framework of plurality and respect for the plurality
and diversity of Oaxaca. – Notimex
(Note: It will be interesting to see, when
and if this organization forms, if it is to become part of the Ample Progressive Front (in formation), composed of
the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Labor Party, and Convergence Party — with Andrés Manuel López Obrador
as standard-bearer.)
·
Chalco – More than 5,000 APPO sympathizers who are marching to Mexico
City gathered en route in Chalco to tell residents “the reasons for their struggle, and to show that they are not a
violent group as others want to identify them.” During the meeting, the
APPO members said that they were not responsible for the acts of violence in Oaxaca, or for the death of professor Jaime René
Calvo Aragón who opposed their cause. They accused the government of Ulises Ruiz
of using death squads at night in order to commit crimes and attribute them to the movement. – El Universal
·
Oaxaca, October 2 – Early this morning three explosive device attacks
were carried out in the banking district of Colonia Reforma in Oaxaca City, perpetrated by a supposed guerrilla group identifying
itself as the Armed Revolutionary Organization of the People of Oaxaca (ORAPO), that is declaring war on the federal and state
governments according to a note left at the scene. – El Universal
·
Mexico City – José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, Under-Attorney General of Organized
Crime Specialized Investigation, rejected [the idea] that the bank branch attacks in Oaxaca had been perpetrated by a recently
created armed organization. He said that the so-called ORAPO attacks were carried
out by already known groups like the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) and the Revolutionary Army of the Insurgent People (ERPI)
that took advantage of the conflicts taking place in Oaxaca. – El Economista and Notimex
·
Oaxaca – The APPO immediately separated itself from the attacks carried
out by the self-proclaimed ORAPO, and APPO blamed the state government, the Cisen [National Security and Investigation Center,
Mexico’s CIA counterpart], and the Secretariat of Government. In a communiqué,
the APPO warned that these attacks occurred “with the complacency of the Cisen and (Secretariat of) Government in order
to justify militarization and the massacre against our people.” – El Universal
·
Mexico City – The Secretariat of National Defense reported that it has
5,000 soldiers in Oaxaca who are patrolling municipal districts “in anticipation of any event.” As well, the Army has three additional battalions, with 1,837 men, “who on command could be deployed.”
– Milenio
·
Mexico City – The Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) reported that the
Mexican Army is deployed in the state of Oaxaca “to hem in armed groups,” and the ministry said that this is not
impromptu in any way. According to the Sedena bulletin, these patrols began last
March 27, with support from the Mexican Navy along the coast of Oaxaca since October 1. – Terra and Notimex
——————————
For last week’s
update, go to Oaxaca, Mexico Update: The Fight Goes On (MexiData.info, 10/02/06).
Barnard Thompson, a consultant
with nearly 50 years of experience in Latin America, is also editor of MexiData.info.
He can be reached via e-mail at mexidata@ix.netcom.com.
