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Urgent: Mexican teachers suffer deadly repression. Solidarity Needed.

In its latest violent atrocity against labour and social movements, the Mexican government has attacked striking Mexican teachers, leaving five dead.  For over two weeks the Mexican teachers' union section in Oaxaca state has been carrying out an incredible campaign of growing protests and direct actions in support of their demands for higher wages and increased school funding.  At their most recent march a few days ago in the state capital, over a 120 000 people participated. The teachers' movement  in Oaxaca has broad popular support and has linked up with other labour and human rights struggles.

The state government of Oaxaca, and possibly soon the federal government as well, have chosen to attempt to violently repress this movement, as Mexican authorities did with the attack by  thousands of police on the townspeople of Atenco on May 3-4 leaving two dead, and the attack by police on striking steel workers in the city of Lazaro Cardenas late last April, leaving three workers dead.  Please read the message on the current situation in Oaxaca and if you're able, get in contact with other people and organize a protest at a consulate office of the Mexican government nearest you.

Why its especially important to take action: As the recent examples above indicate, Mexican authorities appear to be escalating the violence metted out against the increasingly active and well organized popular social movements who are threatening the current neoliberal model of the holding down of wages and the privatization of social services.  These events are also occuring in the context of the upcoming federal election less than three weeks away, for which the right seeks to demonstrate its policies of "el mano dura" (the hard hand) against dissident movements.  There has to be a strong international backlash against this direction of the government, in solidarity with the social movements, to try to break this current policy of violent represion.

In the weeks before the police attacks today, the Oaxacan teachers had been mobilizing on a scale unseen in decades in order to try to win improvements in conditions for themselves as workers, and for their students and communities.  They have been an inspiration for many other labour and social movements.  As the letter below mentions, they are still holding the line and not letting this violence break the strike.  Please take action wherever is possible for you.

In solidarity,

Paul Bocking, International Solidarity Commission, IWW


Dear Friends,

Over the last two weeks, many of you signed on to a letter in solidarity with the public schoolteachers in Oaxaca, who have been on strike since May 22nd.

This morning, June 14th, at dawn, several thousand police entered the center of downtown Oaxaca and attacked the teachers, who have been camped in the streets since their strike began. Also, the teachers' union headquarters were attacked, and the teachers' radio station, Radio Planton, was destroyed; the radio staff beaten and arrested.

As of noon today (June 14th) five teachers are confirmed dead. The unconfirmed report is that, among those five, two of the dead are children, and two of the dead are women teachers.

Many more teachers have been injured and/or arrested.

The reports are that, despite the brutal police attack, the teachers have "re-taken" the center of downtown Oaxaca, and that hundreds of parents, kids, and students are making their way to the center of town to support the teachers.

Thus far, the repression has been carried out by state police, without any involvement by the federal police. But there are rumors that federal police are already on their way. So both the governor of Oaxaca, as well as President Vicente Fox, need to hear from us.

The last time I wrote to you, I was asking you to sign your name on a letter. This time, I am asking you to take your solidarity to the streets. Obviously, the governor of Oaxaca doesn't read his mail. I am asking you to mobilize in whatever way you see fit?If you can, gather outside of the Mexican consulate wherever you live. Get other teachers, parents, and students, to join you. If you can't get out there, then call your local embassy or consulate and tell them what you think. Demand that the local Mexican consul deliver your message to the Governor of the state of Oaxaca.

Tell them that people in the United States are paying attention. That the situation should be resolved through dialogue not repression, and that the State of Oaxaca should respect and meet the teacher's just demands. Tell them that all threats to send in the federal police will only result in more deaths.

If you need some background on this situation, and for ongoing updates, go to www.corrugate.org and click on Granito de Arena.

If you are able to carry out actions, please 1) document them with photos and/or video, and 2) please email me to let me know. Thanks so much, and please forward this along to your lists...

Jill Freidberg
[email protected]
206-851-6785

202 728-1600 (Mexican Embassy in Washington DC)
212 217 6476. Press Office, Mexican Consulate in NYC.
Online Directory of Mexican Consulates: http://www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm