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 Editorials | Issues | December 2006 
Oaxaca Licks Its Wounds
 Alejandro Torres & Jorge Octavio Ochoa - El Universal
| | A woman weeps as she takes part in a demonstration in Oaxaca November 30, 2006 to demand the release of relatives, who were taken to a high security prison on the other side of the country after being arrested a week ago after clashes in Oaxaca. (Reuters) |
The political and social conflict that has been roiling Oaxaca City is being compared to an earthquake. Except in this case, the movement has been going on for six months and it isn´t over yet.
What´s worse, the damage to the social fabric of the state capital - and the state as a whole - is such that the reconstruction effort will be extremely challenging.
There have been deaths and damage to the urban infrastructure as well. The historical monuments have not been spared either.
But the most difficult aspect of the conflict is the hatred spawned between Oaxacans.
It doesn´t take much to spark the ire of residents, whether they are adversaries or not. And many locals simply seem scared and jumpy.
After the Oaxaca People´s Assembly (APPO) retreated and melted away in the face of the advances of the Federal Preventative Police, a new concern has emerged - human rights violations and extra-legal detentions.
Human rights organizations have been busily documenting cases of illegal arrests and even torture.
In between all this are those residents who have no affiliation with the APPO, nor with the teachers whose strike started the entire affair, nor with the state government, nor with the political parties hastily maneuvering to take advantage of the situation. These unfortunates have no forum in which to express their concerns, nor is anyone listening.
Such is the tension and anxiety that the gesture by a local jeweler, Víctor Pacheco, and his 5-year-old nephew, produced dozens of smiles.
They were holding signs reading: "Free hugs for peace in Oaxaca." Within minutes they had shared dozens of hugs with passers-by. Whole families stopped to participate.
As such, extensive clean-up efforts began last week. Work crews are scrubbing the Zócalo and the Plaza de la Danza, trying to erase spray-painted political slogans that have befouled much of the Historic Center.
Estimates for the damage after the violent clashes on Nov. 25 that included dozens of buildings set aflame exceed 60 million pesos. The cost to restore damage done to buildings in the Historic Center over the course of the six-month protest is assessed at 25 million pesos. |
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