General Strike in Oaxaca: 80,000 Workers Participate in Work Stoppage

By Nancy Davies
Commentary from Oaxaca

August 20, 2006

The doomed “ex-governor” of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, has appeared on mainstream national Mexican television – both on Televisa and TV Azteca, the two major national networks. His grip on the spin is slipping. “Oaxaca is at peace,” “no pasa nada en Oaxaca,” are phrases no longer accepted even by the sycophants at Televisa.

Events are curiouser and curiouser – or, leaving Alice behind in Wonderland, things are furiouser and furiouser. So I’ll start with the summary: repressions accelerate. A national forum was convoked to discuss “Building Democracy and Governability in Oaxaca,” but the title didn’t spell out the thinking behind that forum. Here’s a hint: the former Bishop of Chiapas Samuel Ruiz García made his second appearance in Oaxaca.

Because of abductions and attacks by government thugs, the people got really pissed off. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) apparently thought that he could turn the people against the social movement by turning the screw. What URO doesn’t understand is that the social movement IS the people, and every time he ratchets up the repression the people get furiouser.

On Wednesday morning, August 16, the teacher-led social movement called a statewide work stoppage for Friday, August 18.

By Wednesday afternoon access to all the banks and ATM machines was blocked. The union of health workers declared themselves in sympathy with the movement and halted clinic services.

Since a national forum to discuss ungovernability and a new constitution was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Oaxaca, the total work stoppage was scheduled for Friday, August 18, to allow guests to leave before the roads and highways were blocked. More than 200 civil organizations and academics from different parts of the nation were invited to participate.

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