Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group

Things are still heated in Oaxaca where the economic conditions seem to be worsening, leading even local businesses to put pressure on the unpopular state governor to "do something". Notably, the recent attempt by the state government to relocate to Juchitan in order to begin functioning was thwarted.

Meanwhile, Marcos addressed the Second Indigenous Encounter of the Yuctan Peninsula, stating that the Other Campaign participants "have found equal ground when we searched for and found the party responsible for our pains: the capitalist system", and that the next steps for the Zapatistas are being prepared. In response, the closing statement at the Encounter stressed that indigenous struggles "are the heart of the 'Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona'".

Meanwhile, a very informative piece on the Other Campaign in practice among immigrant communities in Spanish Harlem, New York is now available.

A relatively quiet news week so far, with a disparate set of news items... Firstly, the new governor of Chiapas has been confirmed as Juan Sabines of the PRD, wining by 6,350 votes out of over a million cast and forcing Jose Aguilar of the PRI into second place. A PRI challenge to the results may be forthcoming. Elsewhere, it seems like the room for Lopez Obrador to maneouver in the Presidential election is becoming smaller and smaller after the most recent recount made little overall difference to results. Obrador has, however, pledged to keep fighting so things are not necessarily settled, especially as Obrador's supporters are pressuring him to adopt a more left-wing platform.

Meanwhile, the situation in Oaxaca remains very heated, with the Mexico Solidarity Network sending out a good recent update and some commentary (relatively critical of the alleged anarchist presence) from some present in Oaxaca City.

In light of the recent events in Atenco, Oaxaca and the Presidential election its worth noting the recent statement by the Popular Revolutionary Army based in Oaxaca that "military action is the last resort when the forms of peaceful protest fail".

Pressure has continued in Oaxaca City, with the Popular Assembly of the Oaxacan People (APPO) taking control of the entire state apparatus in the last few days and having control over much of the state. However, recent reports suggest the situation is incredibly tense, with gunmen firing off shots at protestors. Reports from a week ago stated that four protestors had died and at least ten were wounded. Please read the letters we have recently received from Oaxaca City (found after this news update) which provide a first-hand account of events.

Meanwhile, a case filed by a lawyer representing the People's Front in Defense of the Land has been (surprisingly) accepted by the Mexican Supreme Court, giving them 10 days to show their rights were violated by the hugely repressive police action in early May. Less positively, Ricardo Lopez Espinosa, one of the most active members of the People's Defense of the Land, has recently been arrested.

Following earlier reports [see news for 2nd - 10th August] of eviction, harassment and arrests of Zapatista villagers in the El Trabajo autonomous municipality, comes news of judicial police invading the land of campesinos in Oxcum, Yacatan who are allied to the Other Campaign.

On Tuesday night there was a fight between two different groups at the University radio station. The trigger for this fight was the different approach and politics the two groups have. There were also disputes about the fact that one of the groups that is supporting the occupation of the station has used drugs and alcohol on the premises, which is not allowed for obvious reasons. On the same night of the dispute a small group of young troublemakers paid by the government (according to the sources of the radio station) spilt some acid over the radio equipment so the signal has been off for the last few days.

During the last couple of days some people have been creating some trouble in order to create an atmosphere of fear in all the places that are occupied by the APPO (Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca) - mainly in the TV and radio station Channel 9 that were taken over by the women a while ago. There have been shootings outside various places (not at people, but just at the air), plain clothes police and people paid by them filming and taking photos, paramilitaries provoking and threatening people constantly (there is a long hidden agenda/black list with the name of many people that are part of diferent social organisations, unions and individuals that have been politically involved in different kinds of resistances in Oaxaca)...

Two days ago a doctor was traveling in his car when two people on a motorbike shot him. Various bullets were found in the doctor's body but the cause of death was put down to the car crashing aginst a wall. The doctor was a person of the APPO.