For the past five months, protesters have occupied the center of Oaxaca City. The protest began as a teacher’s strike, but in June, Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz ordered a violent police assault on the teachers in which 11 were killed and many more wounded by helicopter-launched tear gas and stun and smoke grenades. Quickly the strike transformed into a broad-based civil society movement to replace Ruiz’s corrupt rule with genuine democracy.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of protesters have joined the teachers in the streets of Oaxaca, while the teachers have taken over radio and TV stations and government buildings. Protesters charge Ruiz rigged his 2004 election and uses thugs to kill or crush political opponents. For them, Ruiz’s resignation is non-negotiable; they will not let up until he goes.

State police and government-backed paramilitaries escalated attacks on civilian protesters on Friday, Oct 27th, raising the death toll to 19. The dead include union leaders, teachers, children, medics, and NYC Indymedia journalist Brad Will, who was assassinated while documenting a paramilitary attack on a street barricade. Although video evidence clearly shows the protesters did not have firearms, the U.S. State Dept. falsely claims that Brad’s death happened during a “shoot out” between protesters and police. The next day the Mexican government used this lie as a pretext for massive violence against civilians, invading and retaking the city center.

On Nov. 2nd, federal police assaulted the last stronghold of resistance at Oaxaca’s state university. Against overwhelming force, the university’s defenders held their ground and kept their radio station on the air. Low-flying helicopters fired tear gas canisters into the crowds as police retreated and detained dozens of unarmed civilians, including children and elderly.

We call on our U.S. representatives to present our just demands
to the Mexican government, namely:
1. Ulises Ruiz step down
2. the immediate withdrawal of federal forces from Oaxaca
3. the immediate and unconditional freedom for all detainees
4. justice for all murdered and disappeared compañeras and
prosecution and punishment of guilty parties on all levels
5. a full Congressional investigation into Brad Will’s death