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November
1, 2006
An Interview with a Oaxacan Rebel
Hell
is Rising in Oaxaca
By RON JACOBS
When I lived in Washington state, some
of my closest friends were from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
I have kept in touch with a few of them and they have kept me
in touch with the rebellion unfolding in the streets of Oaxaca
the past few months. After the escalation of the situation there
on October 27, 2006, when paramilitary forces shot and killed
four people (including Indymedia journalist Brad Will), I spoke
with my friends David Abeles and Hilaria Cruz who helped me contact
some of their people in Oaxaca city. Given the circumstances
currently existing in the area and the uncertainty of the immediate
future because of the military and police presence there, I felt
that the best way to get firsthand information out to the wider
world would be to conduct an email interview. The first interview
is below. I hope to have another one ready in the next couple
days.
Ron: Hey Tomas. Thanks
for taking the time to answer a few questions. Would you be
willing to introduce yourself?
Tomas: Hi, I would like to
salute all the readers of this electronic journal. My name
is Tomas Cruz, I am a native from a community in Oaxaca in the
highlands. I was forced by the economic situation to migrate
to the States. Fortunately I gained an education at the Evergreen
State College. I also went the University of Texas for a graduate
degree in Latin American studies.
Ron: So, you've been in
Oaxaca during the entire uprising? Can you tell us the sequence
of events as you see them up to now?
Tomas: I am a Oaxacan native
with graduate training at the University of Texas at Austin.
I have been involved in diverse NGOs working for the communities
in Oaxaca up until the time of the Oaxacan uprising.
What we are seeing in Oaxaca is a breakdown of political system
that is completely corrupt and deliberately abuses its citizens
at will, using the legitimacy of the state to impose a government
that only uses power to advance a personal agenda and that of
a very small political oligarchy. Since the start of the present
government it was characterized by repression of political leaders,
immediately killing them and imposing its repressive mode of
government.
The result of the events which are occurring as we speak began
with an every year demonstration by the teacher´s syndicate.
In the 14th of June, the state police attacked the teachers which
were at the zocalo in a permanent demonstration.
The response from the citizenry was immediate, hundreds of people
joined the teachers strike and saw an opportunity to stop the
continued abuses from the government.
I can only describe what is occurring as catharsis of the population,
especially of the immense poor population of the city, which
survive.
After the attack by the state and the immense response from the
population the most remarkable event in the politics of the movement
has been the formation of a popular assembly of the pueblos of
Oaxaca also known as APPO.
The APPO organizations have been capable of resisting all the
attacks from the state government, from spots attacking the protesters
as a bunch of radicals to the death squads sent to kill people
that were protesting at night.
The response from the APPO was to develop barricades to stop
the death squads. This resulted in a historical and animated
political culture, with also a strong popular support.
In the recent days, the violence escalated in one single day
in which the international reporter died at the hands of the
mercenaries payed by the governor.
Yesterday, there was an intervention from the federal police
after the multiple deaths and probably also after the international
pressure after the death of one international reporter. The federal
police killed at least 4 people and raped one woman in the intervention.
The response from the APPO is to maintain the protest until the
governor resigns and the political system is reformed.
Ron: What groups were involved that you know of? Also, I imagine
that many people were unaffiliated. What were their reasons for
joining, in your estimate?
Tomas: This movement is composed
of the poorest section of the population. Old housewives which
think of this as a parallel to the revolution of 1910 and are
ready to resist for years, beggars which are tired of the abuses
by the police, or simply sympathize with the movement because
they see no hope and future in their lives. Mechanics, civil
servants, citizens from the neighboring neighborhoods which have
had their municipal presidents imposed on them. Citizens from
the poorest sections of the city.
Ron: From my understanding,
PRI and its allies were responsible for the shootings that killed
several people on October 27th. Is PRI the only party responsible
for the situation in Oaxaca or are other political parties also
responsible?
Tomas: No, the PRI is seeing
its last days and with it, it has resorted to the only thing
that they know, violence.
Ron: You're in Oaxaca right
now. What the hell is going on?
Tomas: Hell is rising in Oaxaca,
the force of the government against teachers, students, housewives,
mechanics, peasants. The whole city and the whole state is filled
with federal police, local police, military.
Ron: How are the spirits
of those in the rebellion? Where do they get their food and water?
Tomas: There is ample popular support for this uprising which
results in a steady flow of donations from communities and lay
citizens that donate at different points. Mainly this has been
coordinated by using radio stations. At this point theres is
one station left which is being broadcast through the internet
at www.indymedia.org you can listen to what is going on as we
speak, (those that can speak Spanish)
The radio broadcasters which have little experience but a huge
heart receive the needs of the people on the barricades as to
what is needed. Yesterday for example they organized the installation
of medical aid stations because the red cross got instructions
from the governor and its director not to attend the flurry of
people that were shot at by the governor´s police.
Ron: Do you think there
is a potential for armed conflict (beyond that seen already--which
seems mostly to originate from the forces of the state)?
Tomas: Hmm, if the state continues
on its support of a political figure which has lost completely
popular support, especially from the poor, then we will see an
escalate on violence. because the demands of the people after
decades and some argue centuries have been unattended. Honestly
I think that this would continue in the same degree, as peaceful
opposition and hopefully we would see a more democratic state.
Only if the government continues on its escalate of violence
we would see a critical cyclical point in Mexico´s history.
If the federal forces are able to quash the rebellion, what kind
of repression do you think will follow? Indeed, based on past
experiences, after the media leaves the region, what do you foresee
happening to the movement, its participants and supporters, and
the region in general?
I think that the violence is going to be targeted at the organizers
and the leaders of the movement.
Ron: In the greater scheme
of things, how would you relate this to other struggles occurring
in the Americas? What relationship do you see the demands of
the protestors have, if any, to the anti-imperialist/anti-global
capitalism movements in this hemisphere and around the world?
Tomas:This rebellion reminds
me of Bolivia, because of it indigenous component. As in Bolivia,
once the indigenous population determines that it needs to be
overturned, we see that they gain a determination that has caused
governments to fall. In the case of Oaxaca, the most likely scenario
is that the governor is going to be overthrown. What we are seeing
also is a political scenario that changes everyday. The news
today is that the political parties at the national level are
all calling for the governor to resign.
If the movement maintains the level and determination that we
are seeing, then we have this movement playing an important role
in the national politics and possibly a shift in the neoliberal
government of Mexico.
Ron: Anything more to add?
Tomas: I was in the scene five
minutes before the reporter from indymedia was killed. I remember
hearing the shots, people running all over the place, unarmed
mechanics, housewives. There was a woman there, I do not know
if she was a teacher, I only remember her words " This is
our moment, we cant go on living like this, it is enough. I went
to school barefooted and It makes me cry to see what happens
here. Our only future is the border with the United States, I
makes me sad to see our young finish a University Degree only
to work as taxi drivers. This is our moment, we can't let them
continue to oppress us."
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