BREAKING! UPDATED!President of Mexico sending federal forces to Oaxaca, 3 dead yesterday

President Vicent Fox of Mexico has announced that he is sending federal forces to the city of Oaxaca ,which has been in open rebellion for months, to "guarantee the security of the populace, and to restore peace and order".
This comes after a previous proclamation on Thursday that there would be a resolution decided upon by the end of this weekend.
In between those two announcements, the strikers in Oaxaca began to build more barricades. As this was being undertaken, "neighbors" (who were armed with high-powered rifles) attacked many of the barricaded sites. ( It is important to know that arms are NOT legal in Mexico, and are very hard to get. The strikers are armed with pipes and clubs...in other words, the attackers are either police, miltary, or para-military).
There were at least 21 separate attacks, with shell casings everywhere.
Oaxaca.
Eleven people were wounded, and three are missing.

There were three people killed. One was American  jounalist Brad Will, a reporter for Indymedia ( the story of his death was broken last night on Daily Kos by OCanada).
Will was experienced in conflict zones. The two Mexicans who were killed include a teacher from Loxicha ( an area in the mountains of Oaxaca), and a citizen of the city.
The striking teachers had apparently voted to return to classes, pending acceptance of certain demands, but as of this writing those demands had not yet been accepted.
 The situation is chaotic...there is a "bootleg" radio station back up ( The people's radio station had been knocked off the air)that purports to be of the people , but appears to be propaganda from the government.
It is hard to know what is really going on...but we do know for sure that Fox is sending troops. This means more violence.
 I urge the Kossacks to keep their eyes on Oaxaca...I have been afraid that troops might be sent to Oaxaca while the U.S was engrossed by elections...and I think I am right.

The U.S.elections are of paramount importance to all of our futures...but PLEASE don't let this slip off your radar. What happens in Oaxaca,  could be what happens to us, too...down the line.That is, if we choose to resist...

I add here a link to an article from from Narco News, and below, from a Mexican news source for those who read Spanish.

OJOS ABIERTOS!!!!! EYES WIDE OPEN!!!!!
PLEASE.......

************

GREAT Narco News piece...NN is doing extraordinary work in Latin America

http://www.narconews.com/...
*******
I found this independantly, but just discovered this is ALSO posted now on Narco News:

"Fox is sending fedëral forces to Oaxaca
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/...

•  Too many Foxes...

  Fox News, Michael J. Fox, Vincente Fox...

  It's hard to keep track of all of 'em...

  But thanks for the update...

  by Mumon on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 09:33:02 AM PDT

  •  That was my thought

    It took me a couple of times of reading the headline to understand who "Fox" is.

    by casperr on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 09:56:26 AM PDT

  •  Yeah. . .

    I mean, he's pissed about the anti-stem cell candidates, but isn't this going a bit far?

    by LarryInNYC on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 10:01:42 AM PDT

    •  Anyone who can make me laugh

      today gets a recommend.

      by BoxerRebellion on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:16:39 PM PDT

  •  Peerhaps the diarist

    should change the headline to

    Mexican Pres. to send army to Oaxaca, 3 dead yesterday

    by Timroff on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:11:46 AM PDT

    •  You are right....

      Too confusing...I changed it. Thank you...

      by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:03:45 PM PDT

      •  no problem

        I've recommended the diary now that you've changed the title. Good work here!

        by Timroff on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:11:29 PM PDT

        •  Thank you...

          I obviously think it is important,and with many future implications for Mexico...

          by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:28:24 PM PDT

  •  really?

    when I read Oaxaca I knew right away which Fox he meant. Oaxaca = Mexico = Vicente Fox

    But I guess we are all a little obsessed with American politics right now so the confusion is understandable.

    by pacific city on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:20:33 AM PDT

  •  This is the Army of the 12 Foxes

    "Nobody is going to die! You're not going to save the world, okay? You're delusional. You've made all this up out of bits and pieces in your head."

    by Stoy on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 02:22:34 PM PDT

•  My first thought was "Fox News Security"....

  and what have these poor folks done to piss-off Bill O'Liely...

  "Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Effort, Concentration, and Wisdom"

  by Dood Abides on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 09:34:53 AM PDT

  •  That was mine, too.

    "Wait a minute, Fox has forces now?  And they're going to Mexico?  How does that work -- oh, wait."

    by lemming22 on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:17:20 PM PDT

•  the common term for such a maneuver

  is "crackdown". my thoughts, as always,  are with the innocents...

  "after the Rapture, we get all their shit"

  It's time: the albany project.

  by lipris on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 09:40:49 AM PDT

•  I am praying

  for the people of this city.  May they safely regain their freedom.

  by sheddhead on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 09:46:17 AM PDT

  •  While I don't pray, I am sending positive

    thoughts their way. It really seems to be a dangerous time right now and I hope that this can come to a peaceful end.

    by Clive all hat no horse Rodeo on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:03:32 PM PDT

•  Sling shots

  were the weapons being used in the pics I saw online yeterday at this yahoo news site. This is so sad.

  by greenchiledem on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 10:05:25 AM PDT

•  Yikes. Thanks for

  letting us know.

  by AllisonInSeattle on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 10:08:32 AM PDT

•  Peace on earth and good will towards men...

  on what freakin planet?

  by dkmich on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 10:42:47 AM PDT

•  Thanks for the post. Are there any action items

  that we are being asked to do? If so please post info.

  by Tanya on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:03:49 AM PDT

  •  I have added contacts

    at the bottom of my original post.
    And I have added as well a letter a friend sent out of Oaxaca to many people on the 26th. It is worth a read...I tend to forget that most people do not know all the background of this crisis.
    Regarding my posts.... I am sorry that my technical skills are not better....

    by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:31:54 PM PDT

    •  thanks for responding

      by Tanya on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:58:47 PM PDT

•  I don't think Fox has

  a choice anymore. In fact, sending in the PFP may be a good thing. Apparently 6 Boeings belonging to the PFP (Policia Federale Preventiva) have just landed at the airport in Oaxaca.

  APPO is not a totally innocent party in the escalation of violence and their refusal to negotiate and their continuing to hold the city hostage has won them few friends among the good citizens of Oaxaca City. Most of the people I know in Oaxaca, working class people like taxi drivers and small shop keepers believe that APPO and STNE Section 22 have been hijacked by radicals, many of whom are not even Oaxaqueña and who are eager for a violent confrontation.  

  If this situation was being played in US city, I bet most people would be calling for the National Guard to restore order.

  All that said, I pray for restrain on all sides and a return to the barginning table. It is a shame that Congress refused to remove Ulises last week.

  by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:08:04 AM PDT

  •  He may NOT have a choice...now..

    Certainly there has been some infiltration of the APPO by  undesireable elements...Oaxaca is in bad shape,of that there is no doubt.

    All of the state is suffering economically...there is virtually no tourism anywhere.

    However...if Governor Ulises Ruiz had stepped down, or been repaced, this could have been resolved MONTHS ago...with NO loss of life. But the PRI wants to hold on till December, when they can legally replace Ulises with a NEW PRI governor, and thereby keep their stranglehold on the cash cow that Oaxaca is to them.

    Troops to Oaxaca will almost certainly mean more blood will be shed.

    And for the record, I know that many people here  (I am now back in Oaxaca),are sick at the thought that all this may have been in vain...

    Also...there is a huge anmount of pressure on President Fox to resolve this political problem before Calderon takes office...the thinking is that he will have NO legitmacy if this continues.

     I will say again...with empasis...this could have been resolved MONTHS ago...with the replacement of Ulises!!

    by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:19:22 PM PDT

    •  absolutely

      I totally agree about Ulises. I think the feds should have been much more forceful in removing him. I don't believe that they couldn't have bribed or blackmailed him, if there was no legal/political way to force his removal.

      by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:22:54 PM PDT

      •  Constrained by the PRI/PAN Alliance

        Mariachi Mama, first of all, I do hope you weathered the storm last week.  As someone who has been impacted by two very powerful earthquakes, I fear and respect the power of nature, and am very aware of the havoc it can wreak.

        Now, I'd like to preface my comment by saying, as I have said before, that Ulises should have been removed long ago.

        But, to do so now would be catastrophic to Fox and Calderon.  The PRI has already stated that stated if Ulises goes, what is to prevent an incoming weak federal executive from being removed from power as well.  Obviously, the PRI was threatening Calderon.  

        Moreover, even if Calderon isn't removed, the PRI will think twice about collaborating (in congress) with the party which removed one of their own from office.  Given that the center-left PRD will not embrace the PAN's RightWing agenda, who would that leave the PAN with?

        Finally, let's not forget that over 2/3s of Mexican voted against Calderon, and that a HUGE % of Mexicans continue to believe that AMLO won the presidency.  Also, if the elections were held this week, AMLO would still receive 36% of the vote, against 43% for Calderon.  And please note that the pollster, GEA-ISA has VERY STRONG ties to Calderon, probably inflating his support.

        --------------------------------------
        http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/...

        A pesar de lo anterior, un porcentaje significativo (36%) de la población expresa que si las elecciones fueran hoy votaría por López Obrador, en comparación con 43% para Calderón.
        ------------------------------

        Mariachi Mama, Ulises should have been forcibly removed months ago.  I don't know that he will be removed in the near future.

        I do agree that the protesters should be forcibly, but peacefully, removed, however.  Why haven't they cut off power and water to the camps?

        by PatriciaVa on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:56:14 PM PDT

        •  No power has been cut, because

          by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:33:16 PM PDT

          •  Sorry...it seemed as though MY power was cut off!

            I was saying the power has not been cut because it is not encampments...it is barricades throughout the city, itself. And I have witnessed the local shopkeepers and resturants ( and just folks)taking food and water to the people manning the barricades...there has been huge local support...

            by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:37:15 PM PDT

•  The journalist who was killed...

  Here is a link to last night's diary about Brad Will, the Indymedia reporter who was shot and killed by alleged paramilitary forces.

  This diary went largely unnoticed last night, it was posted at a pretty late hour.

  Brad Will, RIP

  by pacific city on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:14:30 AM PDT

  •  I want to point out

    that these paramilitaries are loyal to PRI and the Oaxacan governor, Ulises Ruiz, not the PAN party or the federal government. The press has already found many off duty state police in the photos taken during the shootings.

    by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:21:55 AM PDT

  •  Kayakbiker's tribute

    In Memory of Brad Will was poignant.

    And, la urracca (the diarist) made an excellent point in that diary:

    This Governor (URO), Ulises, is the lamest of lame ducks. This could have been resolved months ago, by replacing him...but the PRI (the dominent political party in Oaxaca), is holding on by their fingernails so that they can legally appoint a NEW PRI governor in December...the point being that they want to keep control of the cash cow that Oaxaca represents to them.

    Our... constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds. Thurgood Marshall

    by bronte17 on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:23:52 AM PDT

•  What happens if .....

  the folks in Chiapas united with those in Oaxaca? Unity of the downtrodden will be the undoing of the Mexican Oligarchy.

  Oaxaca has always been dear to my heart for many reasons. Goodwill to all who are there.

  by american pastoral on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:19:06 AM PDT

•  I hav already voted so

  I will watch this closely. Oaxaca had one of the most beautiful classic zocalos in all of Mexico. I fondly remember eating hotdogs warped in bacon, not healthy but really good. When I thought I could walk up Monte Alban, a local stopped in his VW bug and gave me a ride up to the top. The people of Oaxaca are among the most gracious I have ever met.

  My thoughts are with the people of Oaxaca.

  by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:21:39 AM PDT

  •  My damn 'e' is not working on my keyboard

    by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:22:46 AM PDT

    •  don't make excuses....

      you make those of us who can't type look bad.

      by american pastoral on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:32:22 AM PDT

    •  And you seem to have your 'r' and 'a' keys

      swapped around!

      warped

      ;)

      he he...

      by Clive all hat no horse Rodeo on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:08:46 PM PDT

      •  LOL, it is a tricky keyboard

        by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:33:26 PM PDT

•  Photos

  Warning: This link has a graphic photo of murdered journalist, Bradley Will

  http://fotos.eluniversal.com.mx/...

  by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 11:32:29 AM PDT

•  No connection

  There is no connection between the violence in Oaxaca and our election. Of isn't using the election as cover. He isn't the least bit focused on our election. And the events there aren't some harbinger of events here. I'm also perplexed by your comments about striking teachers. My understanding is that the protests are directed at the governor who is accused of stealing the election. I suppose that if American protesters tried to shut down a city for a prolonged time (as you put it "if we choose to resist"), it could lead to armed response. It has happened before. But, it wouldn't be connected to events in Oaxaca. What's happening there is a tragedy. If you have some idea how we might respond to it constructively, I'd love to hear it.

  by FischFry on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:05:28 PM PDT

  •  It started as a teachers strike

    in fact, the teachers of Oaxaca have had a strike every may for the last 23 years. In the past they got some concessions and went home. This year, the governor (who is a crook) tried to forcibly break up the strike, which of course escalated the conflict. The teachers were joined by another group, APPO, whose goal is to oust the governor.  

    by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:17:00 PM PDT

  •  I disagree...

    respectfully.

    President Fox is very connected to Bush, and would certainly like to have the American public not focused on events in Oaxaca...a VERY popular and beloved place by foreign tourism.

    Our elections alone would not dictate events here...but a convenient cover would certainly be sought.

    Bush has done the same sort of thing...finding external events to cover things he wishes overlooked.
    It may NOT be so...but it is a distinct possiblity.

    Thank you for your suggestion of listing things we can do...I am adding that at the top.

    by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:06:10 PM PDT

•  It looks like

  the panistas decided that Fox would have to take the blame for a possible massacre before Calderón's inauguration. I say possible massacre because the lesson from the Zapatista uprising in the 90s is that what we're seeing now may not be more than an attempt at escalating the tension to the point where the protesters loose the stomach for more and stand down (which, needless to say, won't happen). But even if that's Fox's game, it's an extremely dangeours game.

  (Btw., when you say

  It is important to know that arms are NOT legal in Mexico

  I have to wonder whether that's accurate. My understanding is that guns aren't illegal, they're just regulated, same as in Europe - you need a license to have a gun, and you need to register the gun. For some reason, Americans seem to find it really hard to understand this concept ;-))

  by brainwave on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:06:24 PM PDT

  •  Lots of people have guns in Mexico

    especially in rural areas, but automatic and semi automatic weapons are uncommon, except among the police and the narcos, etc.  APPO says that some of the gunmen are Zetas..former army guys who work for the cartels. Mexico has constantly asked for cooperation from the US in controlling the small arms trade, but selling guns in Mexico is big business so you can guess how well that has succeeded.

    by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:13:55 PM PDT

    •  Guns are still hard to come by..

      but as you say,automatic weapons are rare.

      Last year, there was a shootout in Southern Oaxaca...it was an attempted robbery of a bus station, and the thieves had automatic weapons. Most of the attackers were killed..one was wounded and captured. During interrogation (!!) he revealed they had bought the American-made guns up at the American border.
      Muchas gracias, NRA!!!!

      by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:25:33 PM PDT

      •  I was walking up the trail along

        Agua Azul when I saw a guy strolling along the trail with a shotgun.  It took me by surprise, but my Mexican friend told me that there are permits for hunting. But that is a lot different than high-powered rifles and automatic weapon. On a train outside of Nuevo Laredo the Federales come on board. Once again my friend said not to worry, they were looking for Mexicans with guns. And it is true, they ignored me and thoroughly searched a Mexican nationalist bags.

        The south is a lot more politically explosive but I get the feeling that there are a LOT more guns in the north along the U.S. border. That is why I was in favor of Mexico's attempt to legalize drugs. I think it would have reduced the drug violence. I can't remember where, but isn't there a city in the north that has a patron saint of drug dealers?

        There are guns in Mexico...but they are not common.

        by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:54:26 PM PDT

        •  Culiacan Sinaloa

          has a "cathedral" dedicated to

          Jesus Malverde

          by TustonDAZ on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:09:38 PM PDT

          •  Thank you (nt)

            by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:15:49 PM PDT

            •  No hay pedo, vato(?) o chumaca(?) <n/t>

              by TustonDAZ on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:22:07 PM PDT

    •  well

      there are guns in mexico of course, but they are highly regulated and even things like handgun ammunition can get you prison time...I don't think that the folks in the Teacher's Union were likely "packin'" anything but if they were it would have been nearly antique small caliber long arms (like most of the ranching families I know in Sonora)

      I frimly believe this "gun battle" was wholly made up  off duty state police types doing Ruizes bidding...he really doesn't want a "negotiated" settlement as it infringes on the feudal-lord like power of Govenors at best and may have included some serious concessions...

      by TustonDAZ on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:19:25 PM PDT

•  Funny (not ha ha)

  from the AP via Yahoo

  However, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said the armed group may have been police. The Mexico City newspaper El Universal on Saturday published photos identifying some of the men firing at protesters as local officials.

  "It appears that Mr. Will was killed during a shootout between what may have been local police" and protesters, Garza said in a written statement.

  Protesters have taken over the city since for five months, building barricades, driving out police and burning buses. The protesters accuse the governor of rigging the 2004 election to win office and using violence against his opponents.

  They accused the governor of sending the armed men against them.

  "Ulises Ruiz is trying to massacre our people," said protester Antonio Garcia.

  [...]
  A second shootout erupted between protesters and an armed group outside the state prosecutors office and left three people injured, Cana said.

  Friday's clash came a day after teachers agreed to end their five-month-old strike that has kept 1.3 million children out of classes in the state of Oaxaca — a move that was expected to take the sting out of the protests.

  The teachers have been camped out in Oaxaca city's colonial center since May when they first walked out to demand higher pay and better working conditions.

  After police attacked one of their demonstrations in June, they extended their demands to include a call for the resignation of Gov. Ruiz and were joined by leftists, students and Indian groups.

  Police and armed gangs have led sporadic attacks on the protesters, leading to retaliatory violence.

  [...]

  On Thursday, a majority of Oaxaca teachers voted to end their walkout. Union leaders met with Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal in Mexico City on Friday to hammer out conditions for their return to classes.

  How fascinating that just as the Mexican Feds and Teachers Union reach an agreement to end the protest local cops and "gangs" start shooting up the scene...

  by TustonDAZ on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:15:44 PM PDT

•  are these related?

  Writer Allyn Hunt of the Guadalajara Reporter writes in the 10/14 issue about the "Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) between the US, Canada and Mexico, which has this core project:

  ...building a giant limited-access "super highway" that will slice from the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas, through the heartland of the US, to Canada, just north of Duluth, MN.

  Without any discussion or approval from Congress, and no public debate, the Bush administration foresees containers from the Far East - including China - entering the US from the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas aboard Mexican trucks.  At Laredo the trucks will pick up what will be America's most modern limited-access "International Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor" - described as four football fields wide, sporting ten lanes, as well as passenger and freight rail lines, bordered with gas and oiil lines running along its sides.  The trucks' first customs stop will be the "Kansas City SmartPort,"... to be built with taxpayer money beginning next year.  There, trucks with containers headed within the US - say, to Los Angeles or Atlanta - will be rerouted.  All of this will be executed without the services of the Longshoreman's Union or the Teamsters Union.  The Texas Department of Transportation is overseeing this first leg of the highway, called the Trans-Texas Codrridor.

  The Port Authority of San Antonio, TX, has been busy coordinating work with the Chinese to open and develop North American Free Trade shipping ports in Mexico.  Present efforts include the ports of Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo.  This is part of the Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor's aim to use Mexican ports to ship containers of cheapgoods produced by under-market labor in China and the Far East (undermining US jobs).  It will use Mexican port labor to undercut US Longshoremen Union workers, Mexican railroad workers to undercut United Transportation Union railroad workers, and Mexican truckers to avoid using US Teamsters Union workers.

  It is estimated, though strangely little noted in the mainstream media, that some 585,000 acres of productive farm and ranch lands will be abolished from the tax rolls permanently in Texas alone by the giant Mid-Continent Highway, while "upwards" of one million people will be displaced.

  A broad cluster of US government agencies, squadrons of state and private organizations have been working quietly to create the super highway without the kind of fanfare a presidential administration expends on programs of such size, aimed at such a radical national transformation.  %Though highway work is to begin next year, there have been no verbal flourishes from Bush.

  (This article unfortunately was not online, but I have received permission/blessing from the author to cite his article on DKos.)

  You have to wonder what the agitation in nearby regions of Mexico is really about, since none of the MSM in any of the three countries is making a peep about this.

  p.s.  I think I may follow up with a diary if there is interest...

  by stonemason on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:26:36 PM PDT

  •  This project has nothing to do with

    the current problems in Oaxaca.

    by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:31:57 PM PDT

    •  I diagree

      The Free Trade agreements are at the very root of the problems in Oaxaca and Chiapas. This Highway is a very visible consequence of Free Trade. Although the highway itself may not be, Free Trade is.

      by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:06:35 PM PDT

      •  Well

        The problems in Oaxaca and Guerrero, Chiapas, etc certainly have worsened with NAFTA, but they go back decades if not centuries. Believe it or not, there are disputes among various indigenous groups that predate Cortez.

        by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:17:12 PM PDT

        •  You've got that right.

          I lived in the city of Oaxaca for eight months. Society there has a mediaeval feeling, really. Tourists are in love with the Colonial architecture but they don't realize how it symbolizes the brutality, disease, poverty and repression of the past. Anita and I visited Monte Alban and there was something about the place -- a certain monumental funerary quality -- that gave us the chills.

          We had some friends who were mixed marriages -- American wives, Mexican husbands. The gaps were really profound. The women saw the worst side of Oaxacan society. One was married to a wealthy landowner. She said that underneath that wonderful Oaxacan warmth there was a seething current of resentment, jealousy and anger.

          The other was married to a middle class guy, but middle class by their, not outsiders. They lived in a tiny Infonavit house that most Americans would consider a miserable prison. But their neighbors were outrageously proud of living there. At that time -- 1982-83 -- many areas of the city did not have sewage systems. People defecated in their yards and in vacant lots.

          There's a beautiful river that runs through the border of the city, with a great stone bridge. It is so picturesque it makes you want to cry -- except if you go there at night and see the giant rats swarming in the grabage infested water.

          People wonder why so many Mexicans prefer the "plastic" sanitized urban structure of places like Cancun. They should try a case of shigella (projectile vomiting and simultaneous explosive diarrhea) or giardia as part of their familiarization program. There's a reason the second generation that moves to Cancun is a foot taller than its parents. We saw couples in Oaxaca in tribal costumes who were the size of large dolls. Meanwhile, the manager (a scion of one of the coffee-finca owning families) of the hotel in which I was working for room and board, was over six feet tall.

          When critics point to Oaxaca as one of the PRI's failures, they forget that the Mexican central government never really has fully controlled the state. It is just another colonial power to be resisted and manipulated by a local landowning mafia combined with indigenous caciques in a territory that resembles Sicily more than almost any other Mexican state. The PRI is just their puppet. Any other party will suffer the same fate in short order.

          One of the worst effects of chronic poverty is the way it makes the underclasses complicit in their own oppression through envy, superstition, depression and the pervading sense of helplessness.

          by Jules Siegel on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:44:47 PM PDT

        •  I acquiesce

          You obviously know more about Mexico than I.

          You are right. Most people believe Cortes and his army of 500 men defeated the Aztecs single handedly, and have never heard of the 50,000 Tlaxcalans how joined him in the attack of their nemeses.

          I went to visit Cortes' tomb in Mexico City, and ended up donating money to the church/hospital where the bones are interred and never saw the tomb. No one there cared about Cortes but obviously they did care about the poor soul who was having a memorial service in the chapel at the time of my visit

          by se portland on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:55:56 PM PDT

  •  Absolutely!!! NORTH AMERICAN UNION-related

    Please DO follow with a diary!

    I am astonished that more Americans are not aware of this...construction of the Texas portion is slated to begin soon...and there is great opposition in Texas.
    This is a multinational project, and parts of the agreement to implement it are being illegally kept secret from the Texans.
    And more... this super toll highway is actually planned to continue through Mexico to Central America.
    Almost the only websites talking about it are Federalist sites, because  they think ( with good reason, I believe), that this is part of a larger plan called the North American Union...which would abrogate our ( and Canada`s, and Mexico`s)Constitution.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/...

    Besides EVERYTHING else...this TRANS- TEXAS CORRIDOR would be a huge ecological disaster. ( See link)

    http://corridorwatch.org/...

    by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:43:24 PM PDT

  •  No,No...I retract...not OAXACA related..BUT

    definately related to the bigger issues ( by that I mean long term...nothing is bigger in Mexico right now than the problems in Oaxaca).
    But the Corridor is one of the reasons that Lopez Obrador was NOT going to allowed to be the President of Mexico...because he would not have cooperated with it.
    What is happeningin Oaxaca is a regional response to the abuses of this Governor , who has been as corrupt all all his predecessors..but more violent and repressive.
    In addition, he has been destroying the beautiful colonial infrastructure of Oaxaca, ( bitterly, bitterly resented - with demonstrations- by the people of Oaxaca)in the name of "progress", while give the lucrative contracts to ...his brother!

    by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:52:07 PM PDT

    •  I missed this

      You wrote:

      I have been afraid that troops might be sent to Oaxaca while the U.S was engrossed by elections...and I think I am right.

      What I meant was that Oaxaca is an occasion to send in troops and get established... officially.  Personally, I would be surprised if some of the agitators in Oaxaca are not School of the Americas graduates...  after all, as with Afghanistan, Kosovo, etc., when an extremely mountainous region is otherwise unconquerable, the tactic of globalist forces is to agitate unrest and keep them busy destroying themselves.

      by stonemason on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 04:10:27 PM PDT

      •  hmmm

        Not sure what you mean by agitators. If anyone thinks this disturbance in Oaxaca is part of some international plot to take over Mexico, I'd reccommend a heavy coating of papel alumino on that sombrero. Very bluntly, the Oaxaca situation is an internal one and much more complicated than the idea that it is simple peasants fighting a corrupt gpvernment. I'm way left in my political and cultural beliefs, nevertheless, I do not have a whole lot of respect for APPO and their hijacking of the people of Oaxaca, it has caused enormous suffering for many very poor people, denied education for those who need it most. I mean, how would you feel if your children didn't have a school, had missed more than half a year of their education?

        by mariachi mama on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 08:08:00 PM PDT

•  It's incidents like this that make me wonder

  if our lefty idealogy on border controll are good in the long run. I'm down with Mexicans, but I wonder if the prospect of sneaking across the border is what stands in the way of a true people powered uprising in Mexico. They have an even bigger rich / poor divide there than we do here. No doubt propped up by corporate interests here, which want the slave labor.

  by McGirk on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 12:42:20 PM PDT

  •  A natural choice

    Why stay and do something when you can just leave and actually have a better life?

    by Chino on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:00:49 PM PDT

    •  Its a myth

      that most of these folks want to permanently emmigrate to the US...check out the numbers that re-cross to Mexico (inspite of not having "micas" or green cards)...they work here to send money back to improve their families lives in Mexico, most don't want to leave their pueblos behind and become Estadounidoenses.

      by TustonDAZ on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:25:35 PM PDT

•  I have added action items at the top,

  at the end of the the original post. I have also added a letter sent out to many by a friend in Oaxaca, that was written before the most recent deaths, and before Fox ordered troops to Oaxaca.

  It is worth reading...she adds a lot of clarity.

  I am sorry that the post is not more easily readable..I am at a computer that is not very good, and I cannot use it well.

  by la urracca on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:23:42 PM PDT

•  All this

  and our own government is building a wall along the border as if to say to these impoverished Mexicans "we don't give a fuck about your problems, just keep out of our country". How about some constructive foreign policy?

  by chicagovigilante on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 01:47:23 PM PDT

  •  the best

    analyses I've encountered say that the border boondoggle is just more toss-outs to the Uberright defense contractor friends of the regime... not meant to actually happen, but to allow more pay-offs.  When you look at the logistics, and the fact that McCain surely does NOT want the flow of cheap labor to stop and interrupt Arizona's building boom, it seems most likely.  Plus the bonus that it takes the nation's eyes off Iraq.

    by stonemason on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 04:13:59 PM PDT

•  Using the Internet for protests.

  If we lose this election it is because we were not forward enough in our thinking when we allowed the GOP to open a gap in microtargeting technology.

  If we need to protest the skewed election results we need to be forward thinking and not copy past protest styles. The rethugs are expecting us to take to the streets at some point and have acquired the powers and means to squash us.

  New means of peaceful disruption can be devised using the Internet. We can select targets and send millions of emails or web site hits to crash systems. We can hack web sites and disrupt the whole economy.

  by ImpeachBushCheney on Sat Oct 28, 2006 at 02:32:29 PM PDT