Narconews: Oaxaca Teachers Refuse to Budge

Nancy Davies reports today in the Narcosphere on what was a long and confusing weekend for the popular movement that has all but taken power in Oaxaca. Last week ended with the Mexican Senate voting, along party lines, to continue recognizing hated governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz as the legitimate head of the state. Teachers' union leader Enrique Rueda Pecheco then tried to manipulate his workers into going back to work and accepting a watered-down deal from the government, but the rank-and-file would have none of it and forced the union to hold a legitimate referendum on whether to continue striking until the governor's exit.

Davies writes:

"The first result of the teachers' consultation was received by telephone to Radio Universidad on Saturday. They were read on the air, declaring the vote in favor of continuing the struggle, with no return to classes. The initial vote results announced on Radio Universidad and in Noticias, reported that six of the eight regions had rejected the opening of schools before URO left.

"However, when Rueda arrived at the teachers' assembly, after hours of delay, the vote seemed to have shifted (or to have been shifted by Rueda). Now the vote was to return to classes, with figures like 25,000 in favor of a return, 15,000 against. The fight was on. Radio Universidad called on everybody to go to the teachers' union hall to protest, with that loud clamor which woke those asleep.

"On Sunday morning, the proposition has emerged that another consultation be held, to verify the teachers' position. The questions for the new consultation are: first, do you agree to open the classrooms, and second, if yes, when? This indicates that Rueda's ploy did not work.

Read Davies' entire piece, a definitive account of the current moment Oaxaca is living through, here:

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2006/10/24/1133/6564

From somewhere in a country called América,

Dan Feder
Managing Editor
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com

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