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 Editorials | At Issue | September 2006 
Mexican Government Demands Protesters Stop "Kidnapping" of Tourist City
 Associated Press
| | A teacher prepares an effigy of Oaxaca's Governor Uilses Ruiz near a barricade in Oaxaca September 29, 2006. The APPO was demanding the resignation of State Governor Ulises Ruiz, who has mishandled a teachers' strike that began four months ago and has spiralled out of control. (Reuters/Daniel Aguilar) |
Mexico's interior secretary on Friday demanded protesters immediately stop the "kidnapping" of the southern city of Oaxaca, reacting to increasing pressure on the government to resolve a crisis that has scared tourists away from the popular destination.
"It is urgent that (the protesters) stop kidnapping the heart of Oaxaca and its inhabitants," Carlos Abascal said in a statement.
Thousands of leftist protesters have camped out in Oaxaca for more than three months, building barricades, burning buses and taking over radio stations. They are demanding that Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz resign, alleging that he rigged the 2004 election and uses paramilitary gangs to attack dissidents.
Ruiz denies the allegations and has called on Abascal to send in the Federal Preventative Police, a paramilitary police force made up of active soldiers, to stop the protesters.
In Friday's statement, Abascal did not mention the use of federal police, but called on state officials and protest leaders to make a pact to solve the stand-off.
He said the pact should include an agreement to hold referendums on leaders, a signal he may support such an action with Ruiz.
Ruiz is a member of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, while Abascal belongs to President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party.
Clashes involving protesters, police and armed gangs have left two people dead and both the U.S. and British embassies in Mexico have issued advisories warning their citizens about going to Oaxaca.
"The situation remains tense and you should carefully consider the risks of traveling to the city at this time," the British Embassy said.
The problem has shattered tourism in the picturesque city, known for its colonial architecture and nearby pre-Hispanic ruins. Local business associations estimate the protests have cost the city more than US$300 million (€235 million) in lost earnings.
More than 3,000 restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets and other businesses had promised to hold a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday to call on the Fox administration to resolve the problem. But on Friday most of the businesses were open.
Javier Chavarria, director of the Oaxaca Restaurants Chamber, said protesters had scared the businesses into opening by making threatening phone calls.
"They called us and said they would destroy and burn our businesses," Chavarria said.
The protest movement began with a teachers' strike and gained force in June after Ruiz tried to evict them, evolving into a broad-based movement of leftists and trade unionists calling for the governor's resignation.
On Friday, Mexico's largest leftist group, the Democratic Revolution Party, waded into the crisis for the first time, warning the Fox administration not to send in federal police.
"Using public force would be very irresponsible," the party's general secretary Gaudalupe Acosta said. "In Oaxaca there are social conditions that could produce a very serious confrontation."
Associated Press writers Kathleen Miller in Mexico City and Rebecca Romero in Oaxaca contributed to this report.
Talks Rescheduled, but Uncertain
El Universal
Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal on Friday expressed confidence that the conflict in Oaxaca can be settled via negotiations, though a meeting with striking teachers and allied protesters was postponed until Saturday.
"The future of Oaxaca won´t be determined at tomorrow´s talks," Abascal said. "But I can assure you, if the meeting doesn´t produce a couple alternative solutions to the conflict, the federal government will continue to take the vanguard in looking for a peaceful end to the situation."
The regional teachers union and the People´s Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) were scheduled to meet with Abascal and federal mediators Friday morning, but the teachers balked at the last minute and resisted appeals from APPO to attend the talks.
APPO and the teachers spent a good bit of time discussing parameters for a meeting with federal officials and finally offered a few demands to sit back down with Abascal.
The teachers have asked for a detailed outline of the agenda and any new proposals before the meeting, while both APPO and the teachers asked for guarantees that federal troops would not be sent in to Oaxaca City in an effort to "restore order."
The Oaxaca groups also asked for assurance that the 28 members of their joint negotiating delegation would not be arrested or harassed while in Mexico City.
Meanwhile, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) officials continue to urge federal authorities to send in troops to put an end to the conflict that has taken a huge toll on Oaxaca City since mid-June.
The principal demand made by the teachers and APPO is the removal of state Gov. Ulises Ruiz, a member of the PRI. The governor and the party, which has ruled Oaxaca for more than 70 years, have rejected the demand.
The Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) announced Friday that its national committee and selected PRD federal legislators will meet in Oaxaca City next Wednesday to discuss a possible party role in ending the conflict.
The PRD is the only major party that has supported the teachers´ and APPO´s call for Ruiz´s ouster, and opposes the use of the Army or federal police troops.
"We´re going because we think our presence there will inhibit the use of public force against the Oaxaca movement," said PRD secretary-general Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo. |
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