Reliable report from Oaxaca -- On the Bradley Will murder, etc.

Predictably, right-wingers in the U.S. (and some in Mexico) have been trying to spin it as APPO's fault. A trained journalist, and Oaxaca resident has been posting from Oaxaca on a tourism website. She also analyzed the videos Will ...

I still maintain, in the face of many counter-arguments, that the protest in Oaxaca has been a peaceful one. There has been much damage to property, i.e. buses, and other vehicles, and much graffiti on buildings, but I think the death toll is still only about 10, in more than five months. I feel sad for the victims, but I think the low number is a credit to how this protest has been conducted and to the behavior of the policing officials. Oaxacquenos are not being given enough credit in the press, which naturally likes to sensationalize EVERY death. I have not felt in danger, using common sense. I just had to do an errand near where I THINK the next police/protest confrontation might occur so I stuffed a vinegar-soaked face cloth in mi bolsa. (Good against teargas, I learned). I DO NOT have inside information re the corruption by the governor, but something tells me he's gone over the edge. This is a HUGE (in numbers) protest and BIG (in longevity). There has to be a reason that so many people are pissed for so long at such a high economic cost to all. The Federal Police are armed, but not using their fire power...yet...as far as I know...2:20 p.m. Monday. This protest has been about getting the attention of the Federal government about political wrongs....I guess I should say perceived political wrongs...in Oaxaca. I was only 50 percent right in my prediction last week: Right: teachers won't go back to class on Monday. Wrong: the Feds won't come. ... I almost didn't go out tonight after reading the horrific news reports. I guess I just don't go into the right parts of town to feel in danger. I find people being ultra friendly. Because city buses aren't running, those with pickups and vans are filling the gap. They paint their destination on the windshield and people flag them down. You gotta love the ingenuity of the Mexican people. I wish people would keep in mind that given the duration and size of thi protest, less than 10 people have been killed. It's not like there are big shootouts going on all the time at every barricade! It didn't get much press coverage in the U.S. because not enough people were getting killed, I think. Violence sells newspapers. ... I understand that two or three local police have been arrested in that killing. If you listen carefully to Brad's video, you can here the protestors yelling, "porro, camissa blanca, camissa blanca, porro." They spotted a porro (goon/hoodlum/infiltrator, not one of their own) and they ALL ran. "Vamanos. Vamanos," they yelled. The even hollared, "Vamos guero," a warning to Brad, I assume. Their running, their fear at the shout of "porro" is clear on Brad's video. (Of course there were a lot of men in camissas blancas, so it's hard, at least for me to spot the porros.) The feeling here is that it was local police in street clothes who did the shooting. They infiltrate the protestors to provoke them into violence. At least that is on-the-street talk here. They would naturally target Brad, since he was photographing them and they didn't want to be identified.