What Do the Oaxaca Rebels Want?
    By Babette Stern
    Le Nouvel Observateur

    Thursday 09 November 2006 Edition

    "Fuera Ulises" ("Get out Ulysses"). Whether stenciled or spray-painted, the inscriptions on the walls demand the departure of state governor Ulises Ruiz, accused by the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) of corruption, authoritarianism, and, most recently, of assassinations. In this colonial town 500 kilometers to Mexico's south and designated as a cultural inheritance of humanity, the revolt against "Ulises" has brought teachers, indigenous peoples, intellectuals, students, and workers together in the heart of the same movement. Since the outset of the power struggle between the APPO and the local government, more than ten people have died, not counting the numerous "disappeared." Suspicion points to the governor's henchmen. They are the ones formally identified as the murderers of American cameraman Brad Will, from the independent "Indymedia" outlet.

    Abiding by his promise to leave his successor, Felipe Calderon - who will assume his functions December 1st - a "country at peace," Mexican president Vicente Fox sent federal forces, a contingent of over 4,000 men, who recaptured the Zocalo, the main plaza, which had been held up until then by the demonstrators. In spite of the disequilibrium in forces, the demonstrators do not deem themselves vanquished. They are encouraged by support coming from all over the country. The leader of the Left, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, supports the movement, as do the Zapatistas under Subcomandante Marcos. Caravans from Mexico rally for Oaxaca. The senators and deputies have unanimously voted in favor of Ulises Ruiz's departure. An investigation is to be opened concerning his links to paramilitaries. But he still refuses to resign. In a town in the throes of chaos, where confrontations occur daily, the Benito-Juarez University campus still resists. And in spite of the sporadic rounds of fire designed to shut it up, Radio Universidad, the voice of the rebellion, continues to broadcast.