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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aIfkQaypIMQE&refer=latin_america
Mexico Police Occupy Oaxaca City Center, Aguilar Says
By Patrick Harrington
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican federal police, who occupied the southern city of Oaxaca yesterday, will remain ``as long as necessary'' to establish order after five months of protests, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said.
More than 4,500 police officers raided the city last night, removing more than 50 barricades, Aguilar said, speaking at a Mexico City news conference. Reports of two deaths as a result the police action are ``categorically false,'' Aguilar said. The occupation of the city coincides with 70,000 teachers beginning to make their return to classes today, ending a strike that began in May, Aguilar said.
The police action follows months of failed attempts to solve the conflict through dialogue with an umbrella protest organization called the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca. Dialogue with the protest group, which is demanding the resignation of the state's governor Ulises Ruiz, will continue, Aguilar said.
``There clearly are indications that the government in the state of Oaxaca and particularly in Oaxaca City isn't functioning,'' Aguilar said. ``That is why the decision was made for the federal government to act.''
Aguilar read a statement from Mexican President Vicente Fox condemning the ``assassination'' of U.S. journalist Bradley Will. Will, who worked for Indymedia in New York and had entered Mexico on a tourist visa, was killed Oct. 27 during a shootout between protesters and police, the U.S. Embassy said.
Probe Planned
Aguilar said authorities would carry out an investigation into who killed Will and the circumstances leading to his death.
About 2,000 protesters marched today in Oaxaca against the federal occupation and a smaller group in Mexico City temporarily blocked a main boulevard, Reforma newspaper reported.
Mexico's Lower House of Congress today passed an accord asking that Oaxaca governor Ruiz resign in order to avoid further confrontation, said Enrique Oliver, a spokesman for the lower house.
Mexico's Senate on Oct. 19 voted 74-31 to reject a proposal to declare the state government null in Oaxaca and force Ruiz out of office. Ruiz, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, has refused to step down.
The Oaxaca conflict began as a teachers' strike over pay and working conditions in May, before more than a dozen community groups joined the protests.
The governor's resignation became the group's chief demand after police attempted to remove protesters by force from the Oaxaca City square on June 14, Flavio Sosa, a leader of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca, said during an interview in Mexico City on Oct. 19.
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To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Harrington in Mexico City at
pharrington8@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 30, 2006 15:46 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aIfkQaypIMQE&refer=latin_america Mexico Police Occupy Oaxaca City Center, Aguilar Says
By Patrick Harrington
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican federal police, who occupied the southern city of Oaxaca yesterday, will remain ``as long as necessary'' to establish order after five months of protests, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said.
More than 4,500 police officers raided the city last night, removing more than 50 barricades, Aguilar said, speaking at a Mexico City news conference. Reports of two deaths as a result the police action are ``categorically false,'' Aguilar said. The occupation of the city coincides with 70,000 teachers beginning to make their return to classes today, ending a strike that began in May, Aguilar said.
The police action follows months of failed attempts to solve the conflict through dialogue with an umbrella protest organization called the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca. Dialogue with the protest group, which is demanding the resignation of the state's governor Ulises Ruiz, will continue, Aguilar said.
``There clearly are indications that the government in the state of Oaxaca and particularly in Oaxaca City isn't functioning,'' Aguilar said. ``That is why the decision was made for the federal government to act.''
Aguilar read a statement from Mexican President Vicente Fox condemning the ``assassination'' of U.S. journalist Bradley Will. Will, who worked for Indymedia in New York and had entered Mexico on a tourist visa, was killed Oct. 27 during a shootout between protesters and police, the U.S. Embassy said.
Probe Planned
Aguilar said authorities would carry out an investigation into who killed Will and the circumstances leading to his death.
About 2,000 protesters marched today in Oaxaca against the federal occupation and a smaller group in Mexico City temporarily blocked a main boulevard, Reforma newspaper reported.
Mexico's Lower House of Congress today passed an accord asking that Oaxaca governor Ruiz resign in order to avoid further confrontation, said Enrique Oliver, a spokesman for the lower house.
Mexico's Senate on Oct. 19 voted 74-31 to reject a proposal to declare the state government null in Oaxaca and force Ruiz out of office. Ruiz, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, has refused to step down.
The Oaxaca conflict began as a teachers' strike over pay and working conditions in May, before more than a dozen community groups joined the protests.
The governor's resignation became the group's chief demand after police attempted to remove protesters by force from the Oaxaca City square on June 14, Flavio Sosa, a leader of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca, said during an interview in Mexico City on Oct. 19.
# # #
To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Harrington in Mexico City at
pharrington8@bloomberg.net Last Updated: October 30, 2006 15:46 EST
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