Mexico: On the Brink?
by Oread Daily
Protesters have taken over the center of folkloric Oaxaca. Police are nowhere in sight. Since the attack on teachers by police on June 14, Oaxaca has been in a state of civil rebellion, Two weeks ago,the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO, by its Spanish initials) declared itself the governing body of Oaxaca. The Popular Assembly (which formed in June) convened representatives of Oaxaca’s state regions and municipalities, unions, non-governmental organizations, social organizations, cooperatives, and parents. APPO is urging everyone to organize popular assemblies at every level: neighborhoods, street blocks, unions, and towns. “No leader is going to solve our problems,” members of APPO repeat.
According to Narco News, the Popular Assembly of Oaxaca "aims at nothing less than expanding the traditional idea of general assemblies of citizens to form a new state government. Such assemblies, under usos y costumbres, oversee the execution of their resolutions by their municipal authorities. That is to say, 'the executive branch' (the authorities) is charged with accomplishing the tasks the assembly gives it. The municipal president, foremost among the authorities, leads (as the Zapatistas’ phrase explains) by obeying."
"For the population of Oaxaca, the idea of governing by consensus remains part of the common cultural heritage. Therefore, as APPO was convoked, the modest people who comprise 80% of Oaxaca’s population, recognized it immediately. And they support it, despite the obvious difficulties of convening authorities from around the state. Since these authorities receive no pay, a trip to the capital city is not easy. But it’s happening."
The rising tide of popular movements in southern states which include Oaxaca may also provide support to those contesting the recent presidential election. Although the popular movements are more radical than the "defeated" candidate, there are growing indications that they could view the "election fight" as one front of their battle.
Por el Bien de Todos leftwing coalition presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) asserted he will not recognize any ruling of the Judicial Power Electoral Court (TEPJF) without a vote-by-vote recount.
Prensa Latina reports AMLO ratified his stance in an interview on Friday, describing the July 2 elections as a fraud and condemning the triumphant seizure of power by governing candidate Felipe Calderon, of the National Action Party (PAN).
"Vote recount is the best for the nation," noted ANLO, who buttressed his request by producing 21 packages of 30,000 votes with alleged arithmetic errors.
He said his coalition possesses evidence of errors in 50,000 polling booths, although there are indications of 72,000, accounting for nearly 1.5 million votes.
For further background from the Oread Daily go to http://oreaddaily.blogspot.com/2006/06/teachers-fight-repression-in-oaxaca.html.
Protesters have taken over the center of folkloric Oaxaca. Police are nowhere in sight. Since the attack on teachers by police on June 14, Oaxaca has been in a state of civil rebellion, Two weeks ago,the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO, by its Spanish initials) declared itself the governing body of Oaxaca. The Popular Assembly (which formed in June) convened representatives of Oaxaca’s state regions and municipalities, unions, non-governmental organizations, social organizations, cooperatives, and parents. APPO is urging everyone to organize popular assemblies at every level: neighborhoods, street blocks, unions, and towns. “No leader is going to solve our problems,” members of APPO repeat.
According to Narco News, the Popular Assembly of Oaxaca "aims at nothing less than expanding the traditional idea of general assemblies of citizens to form a new state government. Such assemblies, under usos y costumbres, oversee the execution of their resolutions by their municipal authorities. That is to say, 'the executive branch' (the authorities) is charged with accomplishing the tasks the assembly gives it. The municipal president, foremost among the authorities, leads (as the Zapatistas’ phrase explains) by obeying."
"For the population of Oaxaca, the idea of governing by consensus remains part of the common cultural heritage. Therefore, as APPO was convoked, the modest people who comprise 80% of Oaxaca’s population, recognized it immediately. And they support it, despite the obvious difficulties of convening authorities from around the state. Since these authorities receive no pay, a trip to the capital city is not easy. But it’s happening."
The rising tide of popular movements in southern states which include Oaxaca may also provide support to those contesting the recent presidential election. Although the popular movements are more radical than the "defeated" candidate, there are growing indications that they could view the "election fight" as one front of their battle.
Por el Bien de Todos leftwing coalition presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) asserted he will not recognize any ruling of the Judicial Power Electoral Court (TEPJF) without a vote-by-vote recount.
Prensa Latina reports AMLO ratified his stance in an interview on Friday, describing the July 2 elections as a fraud and condemning the triumphant seizure of power by governing candidate Felipe Calderon, of the National Action Party (PAN).
"Vote recount is the best for the nation," noted ANLO, who buttressed his request by producing 21 packages of 30,000 votes with alleged arithmetic errors.
He said his coalition possesses evidence of errors in 50,000 polling booths, although there are indications of 72,000, accounting for nearly 1.5 million votes.
For further background from the Oread Daily go to http://oreaddaily.blogspot.com/2006/06/teachers-fight-repression-in-oaxaca.html.
posted by Alice at
Friday, July 21, 2006
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