Wednesday, June 14, 2006
!Boom! The explosion of a tear gas canister disturbed my calming yoga routine just before 7 a.m. this morning.
Oaxaca, Mexico Miercoles, 14 junio 2006
My roommate Giselle, dashing out where angels should fear to tread, ran to see what was happening along the Avenida 5 de Mayo. "Tear gas! Oh my God, they're shooting tear gas at those poor people!"
The whirr of helicopter blades punctuated the shouts penetrating our interior courtyard.
Church bells began to toll.
From the rooftop we could see troops facing off against the demonstrators. As the acrid fumes drifted into our rooms and the courtyards of the Hotel de la Tia, we wet towels to protect our noses and throats. Swim goggles proved unexpectedly useful as the vapors irritated my eyes.
Hundreds of Oaxacan state police and a few firemen massed at both ends of our block. The belongings of the formerly peaceful protestors littered the cobbled street. The angry teachers crowded beyond the police lines chanting and shouting. Protestors and police hurled rocks at each other past the orange portapotties. Weren't the dogs suffering from the gas? Few policemen even had masks. The colorful tarps woven across the streets surrounding the zocalo, the town's center, now carpeted the pavement. Black uniformed police with faces hidden behind white cloth resembled photos of revolutionarios.
Police under orders from the despised governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz forced the families of the protesting teachers from their temporary shelters by using tear gas! Que Lastima! No wonder this governor of the state of Oaxaca is so vilified by the common people here. According to a local source, it is believed URO stole the vote from the legitimately elected Gavino Cue Monteagudo. It is thought URO then proceeded to line his pockets, ignoring the vast needs of the populace. My source said after this use of force, the governor's party PRI was finished in the state of Oaxaca. His vote will go to AMLO, Andreas Lopez Obrador.
Oaxaca, Mexico Miercoles, 14 junio 2006
My roommate Giselle, dashing out where angels should fear to tread, ran to see what was happening along the Avenida 5 de Mayo. "Tear gas! Oh my God, they're shooting tear gas at those poor people!"
The whirr of helicopter blades punctuated the shouts penetrating our interior courtyard.
Church bells began to toll.
From the rooftop we could see troops facing off against the demonstrators. As the acrid fumes drifted into our rooms and the courtyards of the Hotel de la Tia, we wet towels to protect our noses and throats. Swim goggles proved unexpectedly useful as the vapors irritated my eyes.
Hundreds of Oaxacan state police and a few firemen massed at both ends of our block. The belongings of the formerly peaceful protestors littered the cobbled street. The angry teachers crowded beyond the police lines chanting and shouting. Protestors and police hurled rocks at each other past the orange portapotties. Weren't the dogs suffering from the gas? Few policemen even had masks. The colorful tarps woven across the streets surrounding the zocalo, the town's center, now carpeted the pavement. Black uniformed police with faces hidden behind white cloth resembled photos of revolutionarios.
Police under orders from the despised governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz forced the families of the protesting teachers from their temporary shelters by using tear gas! Que Lastima! No wonder this governor of the state of Oaxaca is so vilified by the common people here. According to a local source, it is believed URO stole the vote from the legitimately elected Gavino Cue Monteagudo. It is thought URO then proceeded to line his pockets, ignoring the vast needs of the populace. My source said after this use of force, the governor's party PRI was finished in the state of Oaxaca. His vote will go to AMLO, Andreas Lopez Obrador.
# posted by gmarsch @ 8:00 PM 
