Mexican Troops Storm Oaxaca’s Central Square

The Mexican government of Vicente Fox finally brought an end to the occupation of Oaxaca’s central square, sending in federal forces to clear the area. All sides will apportion blame according to their agendas, but it is obvious that a negotiated settlement to what began as a teachers’ strike ended with a shooting by police (possibly provoked, possibly not) on Friday. Burning tires, big sticks, tear gas and helicopters overhead proved that Mexico is not as stable as it could and should be.

Mexicans, of course, have just come off a rather grueling election that was a virtual tie. Fraud allegations and an election law that doesn’t permit a vote-by-vote recount conspired with a left-right division that is generations old to leave the question of the presidency open to doubt for years to come. Whether Felipe Calderón Hinojosa of the rightist PAN party truly won or whether López Obrador of the lefty PRD had the election stolen from him will never be known. However, on December 1, Mr. Calderón takes the oath of office. There are a lot of people who remain angry and in a mood to cause trouble.

In Oaxaca, teachers walked out of classes in May demanding better pay. Eventually, things escalated into confrontations among the teachers and parents. Some of the school stayed open, and teachers tried to prevent kids from attending (shame on them), while dissident teachers tried to set up “alternative” schools. Naturally, the disaffected and those who like to feel disaffected turned this conflict into something much bigger. Indeed, one of the demands has become the resignation of the governor of Oaxaca state, Ulises Ruiz.

The death that sparked President Fox to act was not a Mexican, but an American. Journalist Bradley Roland Will died after five members of the local police shot him, or so it is alleged. S. Lynne Walker of the Copley News Service filed a report that included comments from political analyst José Antonio Crespo, who said, “It is not a coincidence that the federal government came in after the death of the American journalist. There was criticism from the US ambassador. The Mexican government is very sensitive to that.”

Obviously, Mexico is bubbling with trouble. Whether it explodes or whether it merely continues to bubble is largely up to President-Elect Calderón. Mexicans need schooling, jobs, and a government that the people view as a friend and not an occupier. Corruption needs to be rooted out, and a nation as wealthy as Mexico is (oil, gas, agricultural products, metals etc.) has no excuse for the poverty many of its people suffer. The only thing that could make this situation more dangerous would be the “help” many in Washington might wish to extend south of the border.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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