Thread: Mexico teachers grab Oaxaca radio stations, shot at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01527.html

Mexico teachers grab Oaxaca radio stations, shot at

Reuters
Monday, August 21, 2006; 9:14 PM

OAXACA, Mexico (Reuters) - Gunmen shot at a radio station occupied by striking teachers on Monday, prompting protesters to blockade streets, set buses on fire and take over radio stations in the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca.

The early morning attack, which injured one person, was the latest in a series that has killed four protesters in recent weeks.

Protesters demanding the resignation of Oaxaca state Gov. Ulises Ruiz responded by blocking streets in the historic city center with buses, setting some on fire. They also took over 12 private radio stations they consider hostile to their cause. Others blockaded bus terminals and gas stations and about 2,000 marched through the city streets.

The teachers also ignored pleas to end their strike on Monday, the first day of the new school year.

Mexico has been engulfed in a political crisis since leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador narrowly lost a July 2 presidential vote and accused his conservative rival of fraud.

The teachers' strike predates the election but Ruiz has charged Obrador's party of having links to the protesters.

Some 40,000 teachers, who are also striking for higher pay, have been joined by Indian groups and students.

The conflict has severely damaged tourism to the region. Last month, Oaxaca's annual Guelaguetza fiesta of music, food and dancing was canceled when protesters set fire to the festival stage and barricaded tourists into their hotels.

sounds like their practicing for next march....

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4131020.html

Aug. 21, 2006, 1:36PM

Striking teachers seize 12 radio stations in Mexico
By REBECA ROMERO
Associated Press



OAXACA, Mexico — Striking teachers armed with pipes, wood planks and clubs seized 12 private radio stations in Mexico's southern Oaxaca state early today after unidentified assailants shot up a government-owned station already under the strikers' control.

The teachers, on strike since May 22, refused to halt their work stoppage to allow 1.3 million public school students to return to classes today, the start of the new school year.

Private schools also remained closed after one of the teachers in control of the radio stations broadcast a warning: "It would be better if you didn't bring your children to school."

Strikers said that unidentified assailants early today opened fire at a state government radio station that was seized by teachers on Aug. 1. A male teacher apparently was taken to the hospital, but the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

Mexican television broadcast images showing glass scattered across the floor of the station and equipment seriously damaged.

The attack apparently prompted the takeovers of the 12 stations, all owned by private Mexican networks. About 50 protesters simultaneously took over each station in an apparent effort to broadcast their messages.

The protesters, who still held control of all 12 stations late this morning, aired live speeches carrying leftist themes and repeated their call for the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz.

Radio station owners, meanwhile, urged the federal government to intervene and forcefully take back the stations.

"We consider this an action aimed at silencing the media in Oaxaca," said Oaxaca Media Association spokesman Jose Manuel Angel Villareal, referring to the station takeovers. "There cannot be just one voice, one truth in the media."

President Vicente Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said the federal government is monitoring the situation but has no plans to send in federal police to restore order, leaving the issue up to the state.

Armed with crude weapons, the strikers, who also include a mix of trade unionists and leftists, blocked off all the main avenues in the center and burned several vehicles today.

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 Ruiz, whom the demonstrators accuse of rigging the state election in 2004 and of using force to repress dissent. Ruiz belongs to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which has governed the state since 1929.

Broadcasting from the radio stations today, teachers denounced officials, intellectuals, the news media and others they say have refuse to support their cause.

"We're fed up with neoliberalism," one said, using a term for free-market economics. "We are fed up gringo ecotourism."

The state capital, Oaxaca City, 520 kilometers (325 miles) southeast of Mexico City, attracts thousands of Mexican and foreign tourists each year with its colonial architecture and local Indian crafts. But since the strike, which has completely paralyzed the city's center, tourism revenues have suffered.

The protests have erupted in violence on several occasions and one demonstrator was shot dead earlier this month. The demonstrators have taken control of radio stations and blocked news media offices in the past to protest what they say is biased coverage of their movement.

News outlets also have been attacked by alleged sympathizers of the state government. Earlier this month, gunmen opened fire inside the offices of a newspaper critical of the government, injuring at least two people.

The conflict has severely damaged tourism to the region.

Imagine that. A most exciting time in Mexico and no one wants to see it.