APPO and PRIistas Clash in Zaachila, Oaxaca

The protesters accused Natalio Pérez Tomás—father of the current municipal president—of having fired a weapon: “He fired directly at the crowd, fortunately he didn’t hurt anyone.” The tension between the groups was brought under control after assistant Secretary of State Joaquín Rodríguez Palacios’ appeal to the APPO to control itself.

The governor had to cancel the signing of the State-Municipal agreement and the start of public works in the municipality. Various people were wounded during the violence, including Asrael Torres Carmona, 71 years old, who believes that the repressive force is concentrated in the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI in its Spanish initials).

In agreement with Jorge Aragón Martínez, the assistant secretary admitted that the PRIista group was the one who initiated the confrontation. According to him no police force intervened in the clashes, despite the fact that on Thursday dozens of members of the Police Unit for Special Operations (UPOE in its Spanish initials) roamed the streets and installed metal fences in an attempt to impede the demonstrators’ passage.