BootsnAll Travel Network



Archive for June, 2007

« Home

News From Mexico

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
JUNE 18-24, 2007

4. SUPREME COURT WILL INVESTIGATE OAXACA GOVERNOR AND FORMER PRESIDENT

The Supreme Court will investigate Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz, ex-President Vicente Fox and 15 other federal and state officials for human rights violations and excessive use of force by police during a popular uprising in Oaxaca last year. The investigation will cover May 2006 to January 2007, which could also implicate the Calderon administration. Ruiz tried to derail the court decision at the 11th hour by submitting a statement claiming he complied with recommendations issued by the National Human Rights Commission last year, but judges rejected the appeal as flatly untrue. At least 26 people died at the hands of police and paramilitary forces under the control of Ruiz, more than 200 people were arrested, and an unknown number of people remain disappeared. The Supreme Court initiated a series of special investigations during the past year, including the May 3 and 4, 2006, police actions in Atenco and the arrest of journalist Lydia Cacho by Puebla Governor Mario Marin, leading many experts to question the functionality of a justice system so highly politicized that state and federal Attorneys General are incapable of carrying out investigations that involve political actors.

Meanwhile, the APPO (Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca) and teachers from Section 22 of the SNTE continued their permanent encampment in the historic center of Oaxaca City, recalling events that led to two massive police operations last year that eventually dislodged protestors from the city center. And an international human rights commission condemned recent dramatic increases in arrests of APPO activists.
[read on]

Subway Beat

Monday, June 25th, 2007

Tourists looking around for smiles on the subway won’t find them…this is why:

By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
Published: June 25, 2007
New York Times

It’s nearly always a mistake to think of the subway as a public conveyance. This is a mistake that out-of-towners often make. They overlook the essential privacy of the subway, and by that I don’t mean the young woman at my end of the car who has made up her face in a compact mirror between 86th Street and Times Square. I mean the very fact that this is my end of the car at my end of the train. It’s 7:30 in the morning, and this isn’t just a subway ride. This is going to work. Nearly all the people on this train are in their usual spots, within a few minutes of their usual time, and the ride is not separable from the larger and more complicated rhythms of our private lives. It is possible to be on this train and not yet be in public.
[read on]

Oaxaca Zocalo Planton 2007

Friday, June 22nd, 2007
There are no uniformed police in the Zocalo where a new planton (encampment) of teachers and the APPO constructed its plastic awnings and banners on Monday June 18, but there are plenty of undercover police. You can tell...beefy well-fed ... [Continue reading this entry]

Mexico’s High Court Acts

Friday, June 22nd, 2007
Local watchers are watching cautiously. Nancy, a local expat, explains: "The Supreme Court of Mexico has decided to appoint a commission to investigate serious violations of human rights which occurred in Oaxaca between May 2006 and January of 2007. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Oaxaca June 14, 2007

Sunday, June 17th, 2007
_mg_5371.jpg DSC_0179.JPGDSC_0203.JPG by Diana June 16, 2007 It’s 4am in Oaxaca on June 14, 2007, which marks one year since the protesting teachers were violently evicted from the zócalo. And this year, no one is ... [Continue reading this entry]

Birthday Fiesta

Sunday, June 17th, 2007
Even though my birthday was last wednesday, I had preferred to stay in the zocalo to watch the June 14 commemoration. So last night I picked up friends Sharon and Max and we went to Mica and Bardo's for cena ... [Continue reading this entry]

Just For Fun

Friday, June 15th, 2007
Meri and Mary Rain, volunteers at the Casa de los Amigos where Barbara and I stayed in Mexico City came to visit me this week. They were great fun and kept me company on my birthday as we sat ... [Continue reading this entry]

LAPD Attacks Immigration Rally

Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
On May 1 there was a peaceful immigration reform rally in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles when the LAPD, in a downright military style action, swept in and chased everyone, men, women and children, not only out of the park ... [Continue reading this entry]

June 14 Symbolic Strike

Monday, June 11th, 2007
On June 14, this thursday, there will be a megamarch at 10:00 am (daylight savings time) from the crucero of the aeropuerto to the zocalo. There will be a symbolic strike encampment in the zocalo, the teachers say 10% of their ... [Continue reading this entry]

Mexico City

Friday, June 8th, 2007
When Barbara and I were in Mexico City last week it almost felt as if the resistance had moved to that city. We stayed in a Quaker guesthouse about two blocks behind the Monument To The Revolution. A ... [Continue reading this entry]