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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | September 2006 
Oaxaca Governor Threatens Striking Teachers
 Associated Press
| | Oaxacan teachers take it to the streets. |
The governor of Oaxaca state warned 70,000 striking teachers on Saturday that they would be replaced and lose their pay unless they immediately returned to work.
Ulises Ruiz told reporters that the strike, which teachers began in May to demand higher wages, was harming the education of more than 1 million students.
"It is criminal that Oaxacan children not have classes," Ruiz said.
Joined by thousands of leftists, anarchists and students, the teachers have camped out in the center of the state capital, burning buses, erecting hundreds of barricades and covering buildings with graffiti.
Two people have been killed and dozens more injured in clashes between the protesters and police or armed gangs.
The teachers expanded their demands to include Ruiz's resignation after police attacked one of their marches.
International groups such as Amnesty International have complained of human rights violations by government forces.
The protests have crippled tourism in the popular, historic city.
FIDH Rights Group to Probe Violations
El Universal
Oaxaca - A mission of the International Federation for Human Rights has arrived in the state of Oaxaca, which for four months was plunged into a social and political conflict that has kept 1.3 million students out of school.
Representatives of the Paris-based group known by the French initials FIDH arrived in Oaxaca on Friday. They intend to verify cases of human-rights violations presumably committed by police against militants of the People´s Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO), which includes teachers and and other civic groups demanding the resignation of the Oaxaca governor.
Jessica Sánchez Maya, president of the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (Limedh), an affiliate of the FIDH, explained to the media that this mission "comes to corroborate all the information we have sent them about human rights violations that are taking place in Oaxaca."
The representatives of the FIDH have scheduled interviews with APPO leaders Germán Mendoza and Erangelio Mendoza, as well as a supporter of this movement, Ramiro Aragon Ramírez, all three in prison accused of various crimes.
However, the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) called on APPO to respond "to the repression with mass political actions, let´s all of us take back the organization of the people´s self-defense."
The EPR said in a communique that without unity "we cannot progress, only with unity will we achieve our present goal, the fall of Ulises Ruiz."
Meanwhile President Fox reiterated his call for talks to find a political solution to the Oaxaca conflict.
The federal government and APPO leaders maintain dialogue, but in six meetings they have not been able to resolve the conflict.
On the contrary, the civic organization on Thursday set off on a march from Oaxaca to the nation´s capital to demand Gov. Ruiz´s resignation.
Fox told the press Friday that members of the APPO "have no need to make this long march to be able to talk, we can talk wherever they prefer and we can also propose solutions to these problems." But, he warned, the federal government cannot "impose or remove governors." |
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