Roughly 5000 teachers and other members of the APPO (Asamblea Popular de Pueblos de Oaxaca) have trekked nearly 700 km from Oaxaca on their way to Mexico City. Upon arrival in Mexico City, they will set up an encampment outside of the Mexican congress. Their goal is to put further pressure on the federal government to force corrupt Oaxacan governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz to leave office. In June, the already nortorious Ruiz sent Oaxacan State Police to illegally evict a protest encampment in the center of Oaxaca. The teachers and their supporters repelled the police and in the midst of the subsequent outrage stemming from the aggresion, representatives from throughout Oaxaca created the APPO.
Many towns in Oaxaca, both indigenous and mestizo, govern themselves through “usos y costumbres” (practices and customs) which apply an indigenous worldview to democratic practice. In towns ruled through “usos y costumbres” the mandate of a mayor or governing representative can be revoked as soon as the town decides that the leader has been delinquent in his or her governance practices. Effectively, the demand of the APPO is an assertion of the legitimacy of “usos y costumbres” and an attempt to apply the practice on a statewide level.
But the APPO of Oaxaca is not alone in its practice of indigenous rooted democracy. Communities throughout central and southern Mexico have their own “usos y costumbres.” Given the widespread evidence of fraud in the recent Presidential elections, and a general crisis of governance throughout the country, the arrival of the APPO in Mexico City this week holds special significance; it is the continuation of a long term battle of popular democracy vs. corrupt institutions. The APPO may well put into motion the beginning of the end of so-called President-elect Felipe Calderon from office…before he is even sworn in!
Check out www.narconews.com for continuously updated informtaion…
