By Julie Cowles

Pastel colored colonial buildings, centuries-old churches drenched in history, vendors selling freshly sliced mangos, indigenous women hawking brightly colored shawls, the sounds of the accordion players that line the streets… My senses are flooded each morning as I walk to the children’s center where I have worked as a volunteer each morning for the past 7 weeks. For me as a visiting foreigner, the beauty of Oaxaca has not been buried under the conflict that currently exists here. When I return to the States, I will certainly remember with fondness the friendliness of the Oaxacan people, the taste of the tamales, the color that saturates the city, from the buildings to the people’s clothing, the beauty of the children, and much more.

However, this is not to say that there is not an ugly side to Oaxaca. Currently, the government is waging a dirty war against the popular movement that is taking place in the state. It began as a simple protest by local teachers demanding fair pay and resources for their schools. However, after the governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, directed 2500 state judicial police to violently evict the teachers from the zócolo (town square) at 4:00 in the morning using tear gas and other weapons, the protest has turned into a much bigger movement for a more just government. Teachers, along with hundreds of other community organizations, have came together to form the Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca (APPO) with the mission of creating an alternative popular government. Currently the primary demand of the teachers’ union and APPO is not an increase in teachers’ wages but the renunciation of the governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

Unfortunately for the citizens of Oaxaca, Ruiz has refused to resign. Instead he has chosen to wage war against the protestors. Each day brings news of more human rights violations including illegal detentions, beatings, shootings, attacks on media outlets, and even murders. Repression of the media has become common place here. The local newspaper, Noticias, which has been outspoken against Ruiz, was attacked by two men shooting at employees. Recently, other police officers dressed in civilian clothing shot at protestors outside a radio station controlled by the teachers and killed one man. Another man was killed during a peaceful march through the city. Several key members of APPO and the teacher’s union have been illegally detained. And the list goes on.

In order to protect themselves from attacks by the government, protestors have barricaded roads. To express their outrage, they have spray painted messages on walls throughout the city. To demonstrate their resoluteness, they have created make-shift camps with tarps where they spend each day and night. Many Oaxaqueños have expressed their embarrassment to me about the state of the city filled with graffiti, tents and barricades. They are warm people who are proud of their pueblo and want visitors to enjoy the beauty that exists here. However, to me a corrupt government that violates human rights and steals from the people is far more ugly than a little spray paint. And the movement for a more just government is more beautiful than old colonial buildings. There exists much apathy in the United States in regards to political corruption, so I am moved to see a people that is willing to sleep in the streets, willing to fight back against its repressors, and willing to risk even death to obtain what they deserve, which is a government that responds to the needs of the people.

Despite the unrest here, I can say that I honestly do not feel unsafe in Oaxaca. I enjoy my time volunteering with bright-eyed children, taking Spanish lessons, visiting the local tourist attractions, and going out at night with my friends. Fortunately for me, my foreign skin provides me with a certain amount of protection. The people of the popular movement here, on the other hand, are not so lucky. Therefore, I encourage anyone interested in protecting human rights, to contact the different levels of Mexican government, the US Embassy in Mexico, the Mexican Embassy in the US, and other influential politicians to speak out against the repression taking place in Oaxaca.

“There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”
-- A.J. Muste