News From Mexico
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007MEXICO 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.
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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 ... 
Zoe