chequepoint

…as a sunny tourist destination… think again!

The images shown to you tonight here on the street in Amsterdam, demonstrate what is going on right now in Oaxaca, a state of Mexico. What begun in May this year as a mass strike by teachers for better working conditions, has developed into a broad social uprising by the people of Oaxaca. They demanded first of all the sacking of the corrupt and fascist state government headed by Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. But now we want to go a lot further, and have set a much broader political agenda to get rid of the oppression and exploitation that has caused immense suffering for centuries.

This battle has not gone without blood shedding. Since 29th October, the president of Mexico Vicente Fox sent armed troops and paramilitaries to make an end to the protest. The people defended the city by building hundreds of barricades. On the barricades, over 20 people have been brutally murdered and more than 37 have disappeared and countless others have been wounded. This, however, has not scared the people off but rather made them more determined. Crucial has been the strong defense of the University Radio, which was taken over by the people since June 14th, breaking the media silence about the violence and corruption, and the repression targeting groups like teachers and indigenous peoples in Oaxaca. To date, the barricades still stand, the radio still runs.

The battle in Oaxaca is not a local battle, it is global, it is our battle. The uprising of the people of Oaxaca, and the way they organise is both historical and revolutionary, peaceful and democratic, anti-fascist and anti-capitalist. It has naturally been completely ignored by the mainstream media, also here in the Netherlands. We want to inform the public, and that is you, what is really going on in Oaxaca, in Mexico, in the world. To this end we use the worldwide network for independent media, Indymedia: Don’t trust the media, be your own media!

If you are curious to know more about what is really happening in Oaxaca and why, and what that has to do with you, check out the following sites:

www.indymedia.org / www.narconews.com / www.oaxacarevolt.org (eng)
www.chiapas.indymedia.org / www.mexico.indymedia.org (spanish)

This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 18:06 and is filed under ChequePoint, Happenings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.