 |
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2006 
Siege Continues at Mexican TV Station
 Associated Press
| | Villagers stop traffic and burn a car in Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca state, Mexico, Wednesday Aug. 2, 2006. The people were protesting to demand that the municipal president step down. (AP/Pablo Spencer) |
Oaxaca, Mexico — About 500 women banging spoons against pots and pans seized a state-run television station and broadcast a homemade video Wednesday that showed police kicking protesters out of Oaxaca's main square last month.
The women took control of Oaxaca's Channel 9 station Tuesday and held employees for about six hours before releasing them. It was unclear how long the siege would last, and no police officers were seen near the station Wednesday.
The standoff was the latest by demonstrators who accuse Gov. Ulises Ruiz of rigging his 2004 election victory and repressing opposition groups.
Station director Mercedes Rojas said the state had filed a criminal complaint with the federal attorney general's office, noting that the station has about $54.5 million worth of equipment and that the protesters had threatened the 60 employees with violence while holding them captive.
Federal officials have not commented on the standoff.
Tensions have been on the rise since June, when state police attacked striking teachers occupying the historic central plaza to demand a wage increase.
Since then, thousands of teachers, unionists and leftists have camped out in the plaza, spray-painting buildings with revolutionary slogans, smashing hotel windows and erecting makeshift barricades. Most businesses remain closed.
The unrest has paralyzed one of Mexico's top cultural attractions, where visitors normally browse traditional markets for Indian handicrafts and climb ancient pyramids.
Tourism is down 75%, costing the city more than $45 million, according to the Mexican Employers Federation. Business leaders have asked the federal government to intervene, but aides to President Vicente Fox have said the problem must be resolved at the state level.
Tamaulipas Activists Plan to Block Bridge
El Universal
Tamaulipas activists on Wednesday announced plans to block an international bridge in a show of support for the Democratic Revolution Party´s demand for a vote-by-vote recount.
Jorge de la Rosa Ramírez, the Tamaulipas coordinator of the National Democracy Movement, said his organization would block the bridge between Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas, on Friday.
De la Rosa said they would block traffic in both directions on the bridge beginning at 5 p.m. The blockade could last up to 24 hours, added de la Rosa.
"We realize we will be violating federal law, but we believe the Interior Secretariat is guilty of a greater crime by allowing fraud in the presidential election," he said. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us