Death toll continues to climb in Oaxaca conflict

Murders of social activists, allegedly by state agents, and the publication of photographs of suspected criminals beaten, tied up and labeled with signs by protesters in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, have fuelled the social and political crisis raging in the area since May. The death of teacher Pánfilo Hernández brings the number of killings throughout the ongoing conflict to 10. Most of the victims were supporters of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), which instigated the social uprising. Hernández, also an APPO member, died late on Oct. 18 after being shot three times from a moving car. Those responsible for the killings are apparently soldiers and police in civilian clothes, as well as hired killers contracted by Oaxacan authorities, according to human rights organizations. While legislators and the Vicente Fox administration remain bogged down in the search for solutions, the situation is getting worse. At the center of the conflict is Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruíz, who refuses to leave his post, as APPO is demanding. "Many indignant people are getting out of control. The conflict has lasted 150 days, our fellow protesters are still being murdered, and there are no solutions in sight. We do not approve of the acts of popular justice and we want to prevent them, but you can see that people are getting very frustrated," said APPO spokesman Florentino López. One of the photographs taken in Oaxaca on Oct. 18 and published prominently in the local press shows a person tied to a telephone pole, with his face covered, bloodstains on his back and a sign on his chest saying "This has happened to me because I am a thief." Another shows a man with his face bloodied and his chest bare, wearing a sign saying "Take a good look at me, I'm a thief and a rapist." "The rage and impotence that people are feeling explains these actions, which we condemn, but it must also be said that APPO leaders have already prevented people from carrying out lynchings and even setting fire to people accused of crimes," López said. The people "arrested" on Oct. 18 by residents of Oaxaca, the state capital, were two alleged criminals and three policemen. They were later handed over to a mediation commission. "We condemn these unacceptable deeds, but they must be seen in the context of a crisis situation where there are no legitimate authorities," said Adrián Ramírez, director of the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights. "The photographs are pitiful, but what tends to be forgotten is that most of the victims of the violence and murder have belonged to APPO," the activist said. Teachers belonging to the local section of the national teachers' union have been on strike since May 22 demanding wage increases. In June, after Governor Ruiz called in the police to clear them out of the main square in the state capital, the teachers were joined by thousands of other activists, whose main aim is the resignation or removal of Ruiz, accused of corruption and illegal use of deadly force. The teachers and more than 350 social organizations in Oaxaca make up APPO, whose members are camping out in the parks and main streets of the state capital and have closed down the schools as well as public buildings. Consequently, Ruiz, members of the judiciary, local legislators and other authorities are working outside of their offices. The government of conservative President Fox, who has promised to solve the conflict before his six-year term is up on Dec. 1, has held several rounds of negotiations with APPO, but all of them have failed. Meanwhile, the Mexican Senate, which has the legal power to impeach Ruiz, has failed to reach agreement on the issue. Lawmakers in the governing National Action Party (PAN) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), who form a majority in the Senate, are opposed to removing Ruiz, while the leftwing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) is in favor. Ruiz, a member of the PRI, has the unconditional backing of his party, while the PAN believes that the best thing for Oaxaca would be for the governor to take a leave of absence and go. If the Senate does not impeach Ruiz, the situation will become even worse, said Flavio Sosa, a member of the collective leadership of APPO. The senators "are giving carte blanche to those who are killing our companions–people who hope to change this country and our state by peaceful means, through popular mobilization, trusting in the institutions," the activist said. But López said that "even if the teachers decide to go back to the classrooms, the protests and the occupation of the city of Oaxaca will continue until Ruiz steps down."