[nyfoil-l] 10/10 TUE: Defend Oaxacan uprising

[Todd Eaton]

   Defend the Oaxacan uprising
   Tuesday, October 10 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm
   Mexican Consulate 27 East 39th St (betw Madison & Park)

   Defend Oaxaca! Tues, Oct 10 4pm-6pm; Picket the Mexican Consulate in
   Posted by: "Alex" originalexplorer at gmail.com originalexplorer
   Date: Thu Oct 5, 2006 3:22 pm (PDT)

   -Join us from 4pm-6pm on Tuesday, October 10 in front
   of the Mexican Consulate, which is located at 27 East
   39th Street (between Madison and Park), for a picket
   to defend the Oaxacan uprising from government
   attacks!-

   Defend the popular uprising in Oaxaca! Picket the
   Mexican Consulate in New York!

   "And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be
   concerned about your brother. You may not be on
   strike. But either we go up together, or we go down
   together." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

   Every year, on "Teachers Day" in Mexico, the teachers
   of the state of Oaxaca the second poorest state in
   the country set up an encampment in the city of
   Oaxaca to demand better wages and improvements to the
   crumbling educational system. Usually they receive a
   small raise and go back to work. This year, they had
   enough, and decided to maintain the encampment until
   their demands were fully met. But instead of meeting
   their demands, the local government responded with a
   violent attack by heavily armed police.

   At dawn on June 14, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, governor of the
   state of Oaxaca, backed by the state assembly, sent
   thousands of troops into the town center, where the
   poor teachers and their supporters slept, to
   forcefully evict them. A bloody battle ensued that
   left hundreds of men, women and children injured, and
   eventually emptied the city.

   Soon after, the 3,000 or so teachers and supporters
   who were forced out of the city returned with
   thousands of other workers, farmers and students armed
   with sticks and rocks. They were fed up with years of
   anti-Indigenous racism, poverty, low wages and
   government repression. They were able to successfully
   retake the town square in a long, hard battle, and
   they have remained there since.

   They have taken over several government buildings,
   radio stations and a television station, which they
   have opened up for public use.

   They also formed APPO, the "Popular Assemblies of the
   People of Oaxaca," a truly democratic body that
   represents the poor and exploited majority of workers
   and farmers. APPO has effectively become the governing
   body of the city of Oaxaca.

   On top of the teachers' original demands, APPO has
   added the demand that Ulised Ruiz Ortiz be removed
   from his position as governor and exiled from the
   state of Oaxaca.

   APPO continues to gain in popularity across the
   country, prompting workers and farmers in at least ten
   other cities to take over buildings and attempt to
   create similar bodies.

   As APPO's popularity increases, the threats of
   violence become more serious. Local businesses in
   Oaxaca shut down recently and called on the federal
   government to forcefully evict those maintaining the
   encampment and to arrest the elected leaders of APPO.
   The Oaxacan State Congress has demanding the same. For
   his part, outgoing Mexican President Vicente Fox has
   said publically that he is ready to send in thousands
   of troops and/or police to "restore law and order" to
   the city of Oaxaca. On top of all this, there have
   been recent sightings of low flying helicopters in the
   city of Oaxaca, and masses of police and troops headed
   towards the city.

   Immediate action is necessary to defend the democratic
   process emerging in Oaxaca!

   Several pickets and protests have occurred in New York
   and Los Angeles in defense of the popular Oaxaca
   uprising, but we must continue to hold them to defend
   our heroic brothers and sisters across the border. It
   must be made clear that any attack on the Oaxacan
   workers and farmers will result in action being taken
   by working people all over the world!

   Join us from 4pm-6pm on Tuesday, October 10 in front
   of the Mexican Consulate, which is located at 27 East
   39th Street (between Madison and Park), for a picket
   to defend the Oaxacan uprising from government
   attacks!

   The Mexican Consulate can be reached from the S, 4, 5,
   6, and 7 trains.
   [4, 5, 6, 7, S to 42 St.-Grand Central; B, D, F, V to
   42 St. - Bryant Pk.; N, Q, R, 1, 2, 3 to 42 St.-Times Sq & walk.]


   Endorsed by: Free People's Movement/Movimiento de la
   Gente Libre, Industrial Workers of the World - NY GMB,
   Revolutionary Youth/Juventud Revolucionario.

   To add your endorsement email:
   oaxacadefensecommittee @ yahoo.com