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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2006 
Teachers Seize Oaxaca Radio Stations
 Rebeca Romero - Associated Press
| | Striking teachers and members of a social organization demanding the resignation of the state governor man a roadblock in Oaxaca August 21, 2006. Oaxaca's capital city was blocked off by demonstrators on Monday protesting against an attack by unknown gunmen they suffered on Sunday night. (Reuters/Stringer) |
Oaxaca, Mexico Striking teachers armed with pipes, wood planks and clubs violently seized eight private radio stations in the southern state of Oaxaca to broadcast messages supporting their cause early Monday, while unidentified assailants shot up a government station already under the control of women instructors.
The teachers, who have been on strike since May 22, refused to pause their work stoppage to allow 1.3 million public school students to return to classes Monday along with students in the rest of the country.
Private schools also remained closed after one of the teachers in control of the radio stations broadcast a warning that it would be better if you didn't bring your children to school.
The 70,000 teachers originally went on strike to demand salary increases totaling about US$125 million (euro97 million), but the government said it couldn't afford that and instead offered the them less than one-tenth of that amount.
The protests have since expanded to demand the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whom the demonstrators accuse of rigging the state election in 2004 and using force to repress dissent. Ruiz belongs to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which has governed the state since 1929.
Broadcasting from the seized radio stations Monday, teachers struck out against officials, intellectuals, the news media and others who they say have refused to support their cause.
We're fed up with neoliberalism, one said. We are fed up gringo ecotourism.
The state capital, Oaxaca City, about 520 kilometers (325 miles) southeast of Mexico City, attracts thousands of Mexican and foreign tourists each year with its beautiful colonial architecture and abundance of local Indian crafts. But since the strike, which also has completely paralyzed the city's center, tourism revenues have suffered.
According to the teachers, unidentified assailants on Monday opened fire at a state government radio station that has been in the hands of a group of women teachers since Aug. 1. A male teacher apparently was taken to the hospital, but the extent of his injuries was not known immediately.
Mexican television broadcast images showing glass scattered across the floor of the station and equipment seriously damaged.
The strikers, which also include a mix of trade unionists and leftists, could be seen marching through the streets Monday armed with their crude weapons, and also have burned several vehicles in the streets.
The protests have erupted in violence on several occasions, with one protester being shot dead earlier this month. |
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