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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2006 
Protesters in Oaxaca Hold 4 Hostage After Fatal Shooting
 Rebecca Romero - Associated Press
| | An unidentified man is led out by protesters after shots were fired at them from the building, killing a man in Oaxaca City, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006. A protester was shot dead when assailants fired from nearby buildings on a march of about 8,000 people calling for the resignation of the governor of the southern state of Oaxaca. (AP/Pablo Spencer Costells) |
Oaxaca, Mexico - Protesters were holding four people hostage Friday, accusing them of participating in the fatal shooting of a demonstrator the night before in this historic state capital reeling from escalating political violence.
Also Friday, authorities arrested a top teachers' union leader believed to be the mastermind behind the demonstrations that have besieged Oaxaca since June.
Protest organizer Enrique Rueda Pacheco told The Associated Press that police detained Erangelio Mendoza Gonzalez on charges of blocking public access and taking over city buses. State authorities confirmed the arrest but gave no details.
Meanwhile, state spokesman Miguel Angel Concha Viloria said demonstrators were holding four people at a local TV station they seized weeks ago.
The protesters accused the four of involvement in the killing of 50-year-old mechanic Jose Jimenez, who was shot in the heart late Thursday during a march of 8,000 people calling for the resignation of Oaxaca state Gov. Ulises Ruiz.
The leftist Oaxaca People's Assembly, which organized the march, alleged Ruiz was behind the shooting _ a charge denied by officials in the governor's office. The assembly is demanding Ruiz resign, accusing him of using force to repress dissent and rigging the 2004 election to win office.
Ruiz on Friday condemned the violence and asked the state's top prosecutor to investigate the killing. The governor is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico for 71 years until President Vicente Fox's election in 2000.
In recent weeks, protesters have captured several men accused of attacking demonstrators and handed to them over to federal investigators.
The slain protester's wife, Clara Jimenez, said the gunfire appeared to come from a house that the marchers passed. After the shooting, protesters set fire to the house.
Protesters also torched cars and two ambulances at the Santa Maria Clinic, where Jose Jimenez was taken and pronounced dead upon arrival. About 80 teachers and other demonstrators paid homage to him outside the clinic on Friday, singing "We shall overcome."
In other parts of the city, masked demonstrators armed with sticks and machetes commandeered city buses after ordering passengers off.
Protesters have taken over 35 buses since sustained protests broke out in Oaxaca in June, after police attacked teachers striking for a pay raise.
More than 2,000 protesters have camped out in the city center, building barricades, smashing windows and stealing government vehicles. Armed assailants have shot at a radio station and a newspaper that support the protests, injuring one reporter. Police are nowhere to be seen in the downtown.
On Wednesday, two men and a 12-year-old boy headed to join the camps were shot dead on a road about 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the city, but it was unclear if that killing was connected to the protests.
The confrontations have driven many tourists out of Oaxaca, which is popular for its cobbled streets, markets and cuisine.
Mexico's most famous living painter, Franciso Toledo, who lives in Oaxaca, said he would close three cultural centers for fears protesters could break in and damage the artwork.
Business groups say the conflict has caused losses of more than US$50 million. |
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