Oaxaca... from the web, not from me

Newscaster Ana Maria Salazar (writing in English) gives a recap of the Oaxaca news in Mexico Today. Diego Enrique Orsino, in the English-language Narco News, manages to quote a local Oaxacan mayor DEFENDING the killers in Oaxaca as " police acting in legitimate defense against the threat of an occupation of City Hall"... confirming my belief that vilence in Oaxaca has been orchestrated by the State, not by the APPO. Jornada reports that the Senate has unanamously voted to recommend that Ulises Ruiz "separate himself" from the State Governorship... and other words, quit before he's fired. This was the key demand of the protests all along. Strange at it may sound.. it looks like the protesters have won. Still... there are other demands to be met, and Ruiz has yet to formally step aside... Loureds Garcia Novarro reports for *English language) National Public Radio that more protests are expected today. Alfredo Narváez Lozano, in his Spanish-language blog, "citrius64", posts a letter today asking more unanswered (and perhaps unanswerable questions about Oaxaca. (AP photo from Jornada)

"Mark in Mexico" and the shooting...

"Mark in Mexico," despite his extreme rightist views (his links are to U.S. websites concerned with the more reactionary wing of the Republican Party, and have little, or nothing, to do with Mexico... other than maybe those to various anti-immigration writers, like Michelle Malkin or the odious racist Vox Day) does get some good photos from Oaxaca. He claims he has a "source" who slips him the photos before they get to Notimex... which may be true... but, if so, then they were intended for public distribution. That secret source would also SEEM to work against Mark's claim that these photos were taken by Will Bradley Roland (opr "Bradly Will")... unless Mark is claiming to be in possession of evidence in a criminal case with international reprecussions. Which I don't think he is. Both photos from "Mark in Mexico" (UPDATE: 3:30 AM -- yeah, I'm up too late)... the photos are by Raúl Estrella of El Universal, and I've changed the links from Mark's page to those in El Universal. Make of it what you will.) Mark tries, valiantly, to claim that the APPO is responsible for the shooting ... and, he darkly hints, there was something behind the fact that the media was there The possibility that the media were the target of the shooters hasn't crossed his mind, I guess. Mark undercuts his own suggestions... and opens up new lines of inquiry (and a real suspicion that the shooters were indeed, either PRI operatives or police) when he writes (at 10:48 Friday)

Then an APPO operative begins backing a large dumptruck down the street towards the shooters with a contingent of about 20 using the truck for cover. However, the shooters continue moving forward and the dump truck driver gets cold feet, throws the truck into a forward gear and accelerates back towards his own people. At this point everybody started running like hell to both avoid getting shot and run over by the dumptruck...

The newsman on Televisa said that the Oaxacan authorities had not been able to identify the shooters. That would mean that they are not holed up in the Municipal Palace as was being reported earlier.

[Or, it could mean the Oaxacan authorities are lying... what a shocking concept]

The Televisa newscaster showed his film several times and pointed out that the shooters appeared to have arrived and then waited some distance away. Televisa had cameras both behind and in front of the shooters. They are shown looking back over their shoulders several times and then suddenly moving forward in concert. The newscaster said that this indicated that they were awaiting a command from someone. He may or may not be right about that. It is apparent that two of the shooters move forward simultaneously as though on command.

[Mark refers again and again to the APPO as a "mob" or "neanderthals"... if he's right, they wouldn't show this kind of discipline. I still say police]

The TV Azteca newscaster has just interviewed Governor Ruiz Ortiz live on the air. He pointedly asked the governor, "Were those your men who did the shooting?" The governor replied that no, all of the state's policemen are confined to their barracks and have been for a month to avoid just such a confrontation and subsequent result. He blamed the shooting on pro APPO forces vs con APPO forces and said that it was a result of the environment of general lawlessness that exists today in Oaxaca. He clearly blames APPO for all of the violence just as APPO blames the governor for it all.

Mark in Mexico often performs a valuable service, and some of his reporage has been surpurb. I've recommended it before. I may recommend it again (and I always have rcommended his photos -- whatever the source). But, something is off -- beyond the usual WND or FOX NEWS style spin about this story.

U.S. journalist killed in Oaxaca... state police believed responsible.

The Reuters-AP post below does not make this clear:

OAXACA, Mexico (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on protesters in Mexico's colonial city of Oaxaca on Friday, killing a U.S. journalist and wounding several people at road blocks set up by leftists pushing to topple a state governor. Will Bradley Roland, a cameraman working with Indymedia New York, was shot in the chest and died before reaching the hospital, the independent news group said on its Web site. Emergency services said the journalist died after being shot in the torso in one of two shootouts in the city. Nine people, mostly protesters, have been killed in a conflict that began in Oaxaca state five months ago, when striking teachers and leftist activists occupied much of the state capital, a popular tourist destination. Red Cross officials said several people were wounded in the shootings on Friday. A Reuters photographer said protesters came under fire near barricades on the edge of the city, famous for its colonial architecture, thriving arts scene and indigenous culture. This week, striking teachers voted to return to classes but many protesters say they will not back down until state Gov. Ulises Ruiz is ousted. Critics accuse Ruiz of corruption and repressive tactics against dissenters, whose roadblocks have driven tourism from the city and hurt business. President Vicente Fox has vowed to end the conflict before he leaves office on December 1. but negotiations to find a peaceful way out have so far failed.

A Milenio reporter, Oswaldo Ramírez, was also wounded. Milenio is NOT a leftist paper... if anything, it's considered independent conservative. Milenio reports that the shots came from supporters of Ulises Ruiz, or from the State Police. Jornada quotes APPO spokesman Flavio Sosa, as calling for immediate Federal intervention after the attack. The reporters were filming APPO barricades in the City, and were allegedly attacked by gunmen working for the PRI-ista alcade. "We only have stones against their firearms," Sosa was quoted as saying. While the "usual suspects" on the right are trying to spin this as more evidence of "anarchy," a sensible Oxacan resident points out that in the last 5 months, with no functional police department, there have been very few deaths. The AP shows the death toll at 9, but by my count, there have been only 4 (including Will Roland) tied to the protests -- and only one death can be possibly laid to APPO supporters. Another Oaxacan points out that "porros" (not football fan clubs, but bands of either plainclothes police or hired thugs in the pay of the authorities) have been active, and are acting as "agentes provacateurs." Most Oaxacans remain calm, and ... as everyone who lives there has told me... this was no where near any tourist activities. And, this is terrible to say, but I though of "Under Fire," the 1983 Hollywood film about foreign jorunalists in the Nicaraguan Civil War. The film gives the impression that the murder of a U.S. journalist by government forces, witnessed -- and photographed by a U.S. journalist, is what ended the Somoza dictatorship. As the foreign reporters are watching the newscast about the shooting... and the collapse of the dictatorship, a Nicaraguan woman says, "Thirty years of civil war for what? Maybe we should have shot a gringo years ago." I don't know. Oaxaca was Benito Juarez' hometown... and Benito's great contribution to world affairs was the very simple idea that countries should stay out of each other's business, unless they are asked. The U.S. has no reason, or rationale, to be involved here. On the other hand, we are supposedly supporting democracy in places like Ukraine or Lebanon... or -- according to some -- Iraq. But, when our next-door neighbors are demanding democracy, we ignore it, preferring to see it as an affront to our right to be tourists, to see a colorful, dirt-poor state. I happen to think democracy is important... and we should pay attention when the people rebel against incompetent, corrupt, and dubiously elected leaders, such as Ulises Ruiz... Perhaps that's too close to home. I just wish it wasn't necessary to have "one of ours" die before we get the message.

Don't fence me in!

From "Think Progress": Bowing to anti-immigration hardliners in the House, President Bush today held a White House ceremony celebrating the signing of the “Secure Fence Act.” Bush told reporters, “The bill authorizes the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our southern border.” Bush is right, the bill does “authorize” the constrution of a new fence. But that doesn’t mean the bill pays for it. Bender's Immigration Daily has several articles on the (not so) Great Wall of Texas... from American Jurist, the Houston Chronicle and elsewhere.

I had hoped that the President’s time in Texas and experience with Mexicans would lead to more meaningful and comprehensive immigration reform, not just the jingoistic resort to this bandaid. When permanent residents have more than a decade-long wait to reunite with their families, as Mexicans, Filipinos, and others do (due to the per-country limitations and the backlogs), and when federal laws have squeezed out virtually all the ways that Mexicans can legally come to the US, it is little wonder that so many enter without inspection. Reinstating the hated bracero “guest-worker” program will hardly scratch the surface, and such initiatives could only work if they were coupled fairly with more nuanced naturalization and legalization efforts.

Don Quixote: Mexican crime fighter... for real!

The ingenious hidalgo fought giants, demons and Moors in 17th century Spain without much success, but the Man of La Mancha is back ... and enjoying more success fighting car thieves, narcos and public attitudes in Mexico. No Mexican policeman's lot is a happy one -- a garbage man gets more respect. During the Revolution Day Parade in Mexico City, the crowd claps and cheers for the garbage trucks. The police cars sailed past with sirens blaring... to drown out the boos from the crowd. They couldn't do anything about the propensity of parade-watchers to give them the finger... or "moon" them. Mexican cops are low paid, seen as a necessary evil at best. Where the Mexican solider at least gets three hots and a cot (and a uniform, and some education) in return for taking on a thankless job, "los Esmurfs" (as Mexico City cops were called behind their back, in honor of their blue uniforms) received a salary too low to appeal to anyone capable of better work, and not enough to support a family. What you got were either the "ethically challenged" who could supplement their income, people without families, or alienated from social norms (I've always half-suspected that William S. Burroughs' claims in the 40s of seducing Mexican cops with drugs and sex he talked about in Queer were based in Borroughs' ignorance of Mexico -- gay cops and drug-suing cops were the norm... and they were taking advantage of him, not the other way around). Or, you got bullies who wanted an excuse to carry a gun and exercize some power. Naturally, no one trusts the cops. Mexicans often say, "don't call the police, or the real theives will show up," after a robbery. The situtation has started to change. Mexico City started providing arms and uniforms to the officers, paying them a livable wage and giving them training. And raising the standards. I used to see the results around the the old 1968 Olympics Veleodromo where I used to teach a few mornings a week. The "NEW" cops were younger, healthier and ... wonder of wonders ... were doing their morning workout in the parking lot. Coupled with higher entry requirments, various attempts to foster "esprit de corps" (decent uniforms made a difference... a well-dressed officer isn't going to be sitting around with taco fixin's dripping down his big belly) and some changes making it harder to offer bribes (traffic citations are bank deposit slips and the fines were lowered to reduce the incentive to offer a bribe) were genuine accomplishments during the Lopez Obrador years. The biggest change I saw in Mexico City's police was that the cops got younger and buffer... and it wasn't rare to see well-dressed pretty girls flirt with policemen. Nezahualcóyotl, across the state line from the Federal District (If Mexico is Manhattan, Neza is Jersey City) always had the worst of Metro Mexico. That included city services and, por supuesto, city cops. They had a police chief sentenced to 25 years for narcotics violations, and a random drug test of their department turned up more drug users than upstanding citizens. The city could only do so much to raise salaries and buy uniforms. They were still faced with the lower-qualified police officers. And no respect. In a fascinating experiment, Neza has been creating better cops. Low eduction (many officers don't have more than a secondary school education, and a spotty one at that) suggested sending the officers to school. Besides just giving the officers the equivalent of a GED, the idea is that a better citizen is a better cop. And a better cop will be treated as a citizen. So... besides basic schooling, the officers in Neza are ... reading Quixote as part of their regular shift. Every Spanish speaking person of any accomplishment has read Quixote at least once. Of course they also read Agatha Christie and Ignacio Taibo II (Mexicos one and only socialist detective novelist) and... a lot of things. The Neza cops are reading a book a month on city time. And writing poetry in creative writing classes. And attending art appreciation lectures. And, once in a while, some dance lessons. It sounds bizarre, but apparently it works According to the Herald measurable crime is down. Sociolgists studying the Neza experiment are using auto theft records (something people report, just because their insurance agent requires a police report) show a drop and calls to the police are up. Anecodotal evidence suggests people call the cops because they expect them to respond -- and not steal something. Not an impossible dream ...

Tlatelolco -- yes, it was the CIA

This has always been known -- two and a half years ago, I bought a CD from an ambulante on the Mexcio City Metro for five pesos detailing much of what's just "officially" coming to light now. The Jornada program didn't quite say the CIA had suborned President Diaz Ordaz, but hinted at it. The semi-official line was that Luis Echiverria was responsible for the massacre, but when Diaz Ordaz left office, he took the blame himself, shortly afterwards leaving the country as Ambassador to Spain. I don't know how this is going to pan out. Some older Mexican I know fondly remember Diaz Ordaz as the last "good" PRI president. They overlooked the authoritarian facets of his presidency, noting the economic successes and stability of the country. Echiverria, who had a schitzophrenic policy of repressing the left while trying to build a populist image (and rewarding leftists who worked with the administration) destabilized the entire economic and political structure -- leading to the "12 years of misery" that followed. It was only with Cuauhtemoc Cardenas' stolen victory in 1988 (engineered by the CIA?) that the system began to change. The 1994 murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio (backed by ???) finally forced PRI to open up the system, though there's no doubt the system was tilted (with the help of ???) towards PAN, not the left (which tended to meet with an incredible number of fatal accidents in those days, though you only heard in the U.S. about anti-PAN actions from the U.S. sources). Of course... the U.S. couldn't be involved today. Could it? The National Security Archives Project is here. Documents link past presidents to CIA El Universal October 20, 2006

WASHINGTON - Mexico´s president and interior secretary at the time of the 1968 massacre of protesters in Mexico City were both CIA informants and the intelligence they provided had the effect of misleading Washington policymakers about who was responsible for the repression, declassified U.S. documents show. The revelations appeared Wednesday on the web site of the National Security Archive, a Washington-based independent research organization. The group posted more than two dozen declassified documents detailing the CIA´s recruitment of senior Mexican officials over the 1956-1969 period. The highest-placed CIA sources were Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, who served as president of Mexico from 1964-1970, and his eventual successor, Luis Echeverría, who was interior secretary. "Never before had there been official verification, via declassified documents, that the CIA relied on high-level Mexican government officials to provide intelligence reports on political events in that country," Kate Doyle, director of the Archive´s Mexico Project, told EFE. ... The documents shed light on what the CIA knew and did not know about the events of Oct. 2, 1968, in Mexico City, where a student protest ended with a massacre in Tlatelolco Plaza. ... While Mexican authorities put the number killed in Tlatelolco at 39, hundreds are believed to have been slain in the square by members of a government-run paramilitary squad known as the Falcons, which also played a role in other acts of repression during the PRI´s "Dirty War" against leftists, which went on until about 1980. ... In February, the National Security Archive published on its web site a copy of a draft report on the Mexican "Dirty War" that the country´s current conservative government has yet to publish. The initial draft accuses the administrations of Presidents Díaz Ordaz, Echeverría and José López Portillo of committing "crimes against humanity that culminated in massacres, forced disappearances, systematic torture and genocide." Under Mexican law, the term "genocide" can refer to instances of mass murder that fall short of the attempted extermination of an ethnic, racial, religious or other group.

Et tu, Tabasco? More shady vote counts...

Rene Alberto Lopez, Jornada (my translation)

Villahermosa, Tab(October 18) Reinfoced by riot police, and guarded by 17 PREP police officers, the Citizen's Particiation and Electorial Institute (IEPC in Spanish) of this Gulf state began officially counting votes for the election of governor, municipal presidents and local deputies. As on election day, anti-riot police from the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) surrounded the facility. As a result of a lawsuit filed by the "Coalition for Everyone's Benefit" (PRD-PT-Convergencia), votes for the Centro Municipio, which includes the city of Villahermosa, electoral packets from that district were opened today. The Coaltion expects the eventual triumph of Fernando Mayans Canabal, but numbers the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP) count shows Mayans trailing PRI candidate Evaristo Hernandez, by more than two thousand votes. Mayans Canabal's supporters congregated early this morning outside electorial headquarters demanding the vote by vote count, claiming fraud in the PREP results. Police stood by, but there were no distrurbances at the gathering. The problem was noted when actas (precinct totals) in district 248 failed to tally with the number of votes cast. Coalition representative, Carlos Canabal Ruiz asked for that that package was opened and each vote was counted, against the wishes of the elections officials. Candidate Mayans Canabal, who was prevented from entering the building this morning by the police, alleged that "there are more votes in our favor. We won the election, and are already demonstrating agreeing in advance that the calculations will clear away any doubts." In the municipalities of Cunduacán, Paradise and Centla, where PREP results gave the PRI a narrow advantage over its rivals, coalition candidates are also convinced they won. Nidia Naranjo Cobián, candidate of the coalition, assured that she won, said "I won't let them rob me" of my victory. In the municipality of Jonuta, vote counts confimed that Coalition candidates did win the delegation and mayoral elections. Juan Manuel Focil, PRD state chair, said the coalation candidates will defend their wins, and sue where the losses are extremely close. On the other hand, PRI chair Pedro Gabriel Hidalgo, informed reporters that his party will be opposing narrow defeats in Balancán, Huimanguillo and Centla.

wetback mountain

"Tear down that wall..." or don't build it -- from a guy who knows what he's talking about

Bob Campbell, Midland (TX) Reporter-Telegram Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev compared the United States' proposed 700-mile wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to the Berlin Wall during a Tuesday visit to Midland. ... "You remember President Reagan standing in Berlin and saying, 'This wall should be torn down,'" said the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner. "Now the United States seems to be building almost the Wall of China between itself and this other nation with which it has been associated for many decades and has had cooperation and interaction with. "I think what is really needed are ideas and proposals about how to improve that cooperation and work out all of those issues regarding immigration flows. I don't think the U.S. is so weak and so much lacks confidence as not to be able to find a different solution.

On a clear day... WOW

This was Mexico City this morning. Jornada photo.

Good news or not? I donno

President-elect Felipe Calderón named Agustín Carstens, a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, to head his economic transition team Hard to say if this is good or bad. I have the usual "knee-jerk" distrust of the IMF, and expect a conservative adminstation is going to continue the same economic policies as the previous conservative administration -- which haven't been all bad, though they failed to deal with equality and opportunity as well as they should. Inflation is low, investments are up, but there is concern that too many of the investments (and the jobs for younger and unskilled workers) are headed north. And agricultural policy has been a semi-disaster for the small farmer. At worst, Carstens would continue the old policies, but with more confidence from outside investors. Not bad in itself. What struck me though, were some of his statements, which indicate he may be willing to take measures that are decidedly outside the neo-liberal orthodoxy... the same ones recommended by Carlos Slim and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during his campaign. From today's Herald:

"The market by itself is not sufficient to create an economy that is truly human," Calderón said. "The sensibility and guidance of the state is needed to correct the terrible inequality that exists in our society - Dr. Carstens knows this." The appointment makes Carstens a likely candidate to become finance secretary under Calderón, Chappell Lawson, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, said in a telephone interview. "He´s clearly a frontrunner, but these appointments don´t make it a sealed deal," Lawson said. "His name is good for the markets because people know him and trust him." Carstens holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. From 2000 to 2003, he served as deputy finance secretary under Francisco Gil Díaz before taking the third-highest position at the IMF. He has worked as an economist for Mexico´s central bank. ...Carstens, speaking beside Calderón today, said his experience working with underdeveloped economies in Africa, Asia and Central America gave him insight into solving Mexico´s problems. "What Mexico needs is to foment economic growth and alleviate poverty," he said. "These should not be seen as separate goals."

© 2006 Copyright El Universal Online México, S.A. de C.V.

La Raza and THE RACE...

In light of the passing of one of the border's greats (posted below), I thought this editorial by R. Daniel Cavazos, publisher of The Brownsville Herald and El Nuevo Heraldo was worth noting -- MEXICANS prefer Formula One races, but hey, in the United States, everybody adjusts...

... The entertainment industry, like nearly every other part of the American private sector, is grooving programs and products that focus on growing Latino populations in this country.Wal-Mart, Target, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Coke, and all the cell phone companies employ legions of advertising and marketing agencies to help them reach a Hispanic market that now touches every corner of this country. Even NASCAR (NASCAR!), the epitome of white Southern culture, is anxious to reach out to Latino audiences. A story in USA Today last week detailed how NASCAR officials hope to market and promote driver Juan Pablo Montoya to expand its fan base.“Short term, you’ll have more Hispanic fans tuning in and becoming fans,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said in USA Today. “Long term, we’ll have many wanting to get involved in the sport, and we want lots of drivers from lots of backgrounds.” How ironic, verdad, that during a time when xenophobic politicians in Washington are voting to build a border fence as part of their desperate efforts to stem Latino influences in this nation, the powerful U.S. private sector in all of its capitalistic glory has already decided this issue. There’s no anti-Hispanic walls being built by U.S. capitalists. What they want to know is how we can get “La Fea Mas Bella” on American television. Meanwhile, the nation’s fastest-growing sport, NASCAR, wants to rev up and diversity its fan base, with a special focus on the Latino market.

Baldemar Huerta: "The Mexican Elvis"

I was never a fan, but back in the mid seventies, you couldn't avoid hearing (and knowing), Baldemar Huerta's pop classics. Who? Tejano music -- and Tejano culture -- is easy to make fun of. The music is sometimes described as "German oom-paa-paa played by Mexicans on instruments stolen from Gringos" and its an acquired taste. Tejano culture is unique in that it blends two blended cultures (U.S. and Mexico) into a third. Balemar Huerta understood this. And, while some of us deplore the creeping gringo-ization of Mexican culture, we've overlooked the Mexicanization of U.S. culture. For years it was limited to South Texas. UNTIL.. Baldemar Huerta, mixed Tejano with Blues, R&B, Rock-n-roll and Country-Western. Before him, Latin music was "exotic" (think of Dezi Arnez in the 50s) and after him... just part of the American musical scene. Born in the Rio Grande Valley (his parents were migrant workers), Baldemar took the tradtional path of ambitious valley kids, joining the Marines. When he got out, he returned to the Valley, where he enjoyed some local success as "El Bebop Kid" (pronounced "keyed") in local bars. He did Spanish-language covers for Elvis and Harry Belfonte and perfected his art. His friend Augie Meyers called him "a Mexican Elvis" but in the late 50s, stars with names like Baldemar Huerta had a limited audience. So, taking the name of his guitar's manufacturer, he reached a new audience as "Freddy Fender". His "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights", released in 1960, was a regional hit... and a little closer to the truth than most knew. Busted for marijuana possession, Huerta did three years in a Louisiana prison before he was pardoned by that state's own musically inclined governor, Jimmie Davis (Gov. Davis is best known for writing "You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine". He was a early 20th century country star in his own right, and a fixture on the Grand Ol' Opry as well as the Lawrence Welk Show in the 50s). As Freddy Fender, Huerta was a phenonomon. Marketed as a "Country" star -- and he was the only Mexican-American country star -- his style and sound made him a cross-over hit. It was impossible in the 70s NOT to hear "Until The Last Teardrop Falls" or "Behind Closed Doors" ... and an updated version of "Wasted Days". Though he hasn't been a national star since the 70s, Fender opened the door for other border musicians (Los Lobos, for example) -- and his fellow Texans, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings -- to enter our musical consciousness. Nelson, especially, is open to Mexican and border influence. (If you don't believe me, walk around suburban Monterrey some day... every geezer around looks like Willie.) Fender had been working mostly in the Spanish-speaking market until a combination of diabetes and hepititis slowed him down. Lung cancer finally got him last week. He was 69, and will be buried in San Benito Texas.

If he brings you happiness

Then I wish you all the best

It's your happiness that matters most of all

But if he ever breaks your heart

If the teardrops ever start

I'll be there before the next teardrop falls

Si te quire de verdad

Y te da felicidad

Te deseo lo mas bueno pa'los dos

Pero si te hace llorar

A mime puedes hablar

Y estare contigo cuando treste estas

Were they pink elephants by chance?

No, we haven't become the Mexican afflilate of Animal Planet this week! In honor of the U.S. elections, we're covering elephants and donkeys here at the Mex Files! The late Ann Richards said Texas was the kind of place where we don't hide our crazy people in the attic... we give them the best seat in the parlor. Texans are proud of their crazy people (take a look at the Republic of Texas' founding fathers some time!) and it's a little embarrasing to get a foreign import (from, as Juanita would say, "one of them foreign states up north) who out-crazies the natives. Sara Inés Calderón of the Brownsville Herald had the happy experience of stumbling on just such a treasure. As I wrote yesterday, she's the one who broke the story of the elephant invasion across the Rio Grande. This afternoon -- for perfectly legimate reasons (I'm contracted to do 1500 words on the effects of border security measures on my stretch of the river) -- I called Calderón. Of course I had to congratulate her on finding such a treasure, but what's more important, is she's found the story is even nuttier than we thought.

October 11, 2006 — Reports of an elephant crossing the river or people trying to smuggle an elephant across were rampant Tuesday while an elaborate political stunt was taking shape near the mouth of the Rio Grande. It was a while later that the stunt, which was a photo shoot, was abruptly met by federal agents. “The elephant never made landfall into Mexico, but I tell you something, he could have made 15 laps back and forth, but no one showed up,” said Raj Peter Bhakta, a former star on the NBC show “The Apprentice,” who also is a Republican candidate for the 13th District U.S. House of Representatives seat in Eastern Pennsylvania. Bhakta decided to see if he could get an elephant accompanied by a six-piece mariachi band across the river. According to his Web site, he is in favor of “sensible immigration reform” and supports a border fence, local law enforcement assistance with immigration laws and the use of the National Guard troops to help the U.S. Border Patrol. “To my surprise, the band played on, the elephants splashed away, and nobody showed up,” Bhakta said of the stunt. “I’m astounded.” The elephants came from Shrine Circuses, said James Plunkett, who produces the circus. ... Plunkett said he and his crew were hired for a “photo shoot” and entered the Boca Chica beach area without any notice from the Border Patrol. However, when it became clear that the elephants were in a quarantined area, the Border Patrol alerted the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the elephants had to be detained. ... [Bhakta] said he was “staggered” by what happened on Tuesday and was planning on sharing the story with his potential constituents. “If I can get an elephant led by a mariachi band into this country, I think Osama bin Laden could get across with all the weapons of mass destruction he could get into this country,” Bhakta said. The mariachi band was not immediately available for comment.

The Philadelphia-area congress-wannabe (it's a safe-seat Democratic district) has been having to share all kinds of things with his constituents... like two drunk driving convictions he somehow neglected to mention, and producing inaccurate campaign literature. OK, it wasn't quite relevant to what I'm doing on security in the Big Bend, but I was fascinated by Raj's assertion that Osama bin Ladin could have crossed the border... especially since I telephoned him (215-628-4005) and he claimed the elephants had never been in Mexico. Calderón notes that the river isn't very wide -- or very deep -- at Browsnville-Matamoros, and elephants are very wide. They may have been IN Mexico... illegally, as has happened before, much to the consternation of the U.S. Fish and Wildelife Service. Not to mention animal rights people, and even anti-immigration groups like "Ranch Rescue" which tell the story of Benny, smuggled into Mexico from Texas back in 2001 -- resulting in a customs inspectors on both sides of the border losing their jobs. And, no word on whether the mariachis were U.S. citizens... now that would be a good scandal! [The Brownsville Herald October 12 editorial mentions that the folks involved in this stunt ran from the "tick watchers" who nabbed 'em, making it a definite maybe] So, the elephants were never in Mexico, but apparently Raj was.

...at least one of them was taken in as an undocumented immigrant. Bhakta, who was born in India, is a legal U.S. resident but didn’t have his papers. Customs and Border Protection officials reportedly detained him for four hours before proof of legal U.S. residency could be ascertained.

Says Raj on immigration: (http://www.rajforcongress.com/)

I am a first generation American. My father was born in India and my mother was born in Ireland. We would not be the country we are today had immigrants not paved the way. We do, however, need sensible immigration reform. I support additional funding for border enforcement as well as efforts to attract the best and the brightest from around the world.

. The best and brightest... mariachi players? Elephant handlers? P.R. flacks?

Global warming on the Rio Grande?

Last week it was a crocodile (a comedian said you can expect Mexican leather dealers on the streets of Laredo any day now) .. now it's: Elephants storm the Rio Grande By Sara Inés Calderón The Brownsville Herald Three elephants were reportedly splashing in the Rio Grande today near Boca Chica beach, prompting reports that someone was crossing into the United States from Mexico on an elephant. The elephants were part of a photo shoot, according to James Plunkett who was tending to the elephants. On their way back to Brownsville from the shoot, the trainers and the elephants were detained at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 4. The elephants were transported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture office on FM 511 where the animals were quarantined, officials said.

Oaxaca... again

One of the more reliable English-language sources on Oaxaca is Ana-Maria Salazar Slack, who runs the Mexican news blog "Mexico Today." Her summation of the situation as it stands now is hopeful:

Conclusion: What seemed to an irreversible use of force to regain control of the City of Oaxaca last week, today it appears that there may be a different solution… One of the huge issue is when will the teachers return to the classrooms. It has been more then five months that they have been on strike…

The entire post is here. On the Lonely Planet's "Thorn Tree Mexico Message Board", South African Oaxaca resident "gbbackpack" posted this:

Overland bus transport has been nearly back to normal for weeks now. Day-time Oaxaca is basically calm, though people (and taxis) simply no longer leave much after 10 or 11pm (midnight buses are also the only ones still cancelled). This is not normal for Oaxaca at all, but maybe exactly because it used to be such a safe place – that it is actually surviving this lack of governance in a strange way. This week probably remains crucial: Predictions are hard right now, but watch ... news reports for updates (but keep in mind who the information source is).

That last comment -- in parenthesis -- is probably the wisest thing I've seen about the whole situation. Most of the anti-APPO "analysis" I've seen comes from either big business executives, or corporate sources. Consciously or not, they are going to be biased towards the way things SHOULD work... not the way they are working. What's ironic is that we're seeing a libertarian pro-democracy uprising going pretty smoothly... much to the chagrin of those who normally pay lip service to "self-reliance" and "do-it-yourselfism". Unfortunately, a lot of the pro-APPO reportage is also biased... I'm annoyed with U.S.-based analysis that somehow conflate a larger-than-usual, but not unheard of push to out a Latin American crook with U.S. politics, the Bush agenda and the 2000 Presidential vote count in Florida. None of which have anything to do with a mismanged state economy or a teachers' strike. And, even though Mexicans like to refer to Karl Marx, they aren't ones for following the rule book -- unlike European revolutionaries, Mexican history is written after the book comes out. Nobody wrote a Mein Kampf or Communist Manifesto for the 1910-20 Revolution. They still managed to have one. Having said all that... from the CORPORATE MEDIA (or, "MSM" as the right-wing likes to call it these days), this from the Mexico City News (El Universal's English edition, published in cooperation with the Miami Herald). What I noted was that top business leaders are now involved... making this look all the more traditionally Mexican, where crises are resolved through negotiation and compromise, as was the electorial crisis of 1988:

...In a press conference late Monday, Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal, who has headed the negotiations with the local chapter of the teachers union and the Oaxaca People´s Popular Assembly (APPO), said a tentative agreement had been reached over the return of law enforcement to Oaxaca City. ... Abascal said the crisis needed an immediate solution and called for the teachers to return to classes. School has been suspended during the unrest, affecting over a million Oaxacan children. ... APPO and the teachers reportedly put a three-page document on the table that calls for the establishment of a dialogue process in Oaxaca itself that would include a broad representation of the state´s citizens. The talks would start October 12. The secretariat, meanwhile, has offered full back pay to the dissident teachers, according to media reports. It has also said that an investigation was under way involving Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz. The specifics of the investigation was unclear, but a document signed by Abascal indicated that previous Oaxaca state administrations were also being investigated. The ouster of Ruiz is the strikers´ top demand. ... The only major party that has backed the idea of Ruiz´s removal or resignation is the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). On Monday, the PRD said it could accept that Ruiz´s replacement be from his own party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). ...On Tuesday, a Senate committee will decide if it will continue proceedings that can legally remove Ruiz from office on the grounds of inability to govern. ...Also on Monday, a diverse new citizens group called the National Democratic Dialogue called on authorities to avoid using any repressive means to deal with the ongoing unrest in the southern state. The group, which includes National Employers Confederation president Alberto Núñez Esteva and renowned pro-democracy activist and Colegio de México social scientist Sergio Aguayo, urged a political settlement to the crisis. "Efforts at dialogue must have priority," urged the group in a statement, "especially those that involve the participation of civic society and the construction of long-term solutions."

Who's invading who? Or ... deja-vu all over again

¡Para Justicia y Libertad! -- with devastating logic on their side -- concludes NAFTA is designed to erase our national borders, as the right-wingers claim ... and it's not exactly a new idea.

...a conquest does not have to be done militarily. Three years before NAFTA took effect, José Luis Calva of the National University of Mexico, predicted, "If the governments and legislatures of the three countries agree to liberalize trade in agricultural goods, U.S. citizens should be prepared to receive some 15 million Mexican migrants. The Border Patrol will be unable to detain them, and even a new iron curtain, rising on the border at a moment when the Cold War has given way to economic warfare among nations, will buckle under the weight of millions of Mexicans thrown off their lands by free trade." The essence of the American empire is not territorial control but wresting of economic control from another country and dominating that nation economically. How long will this "peaceful conquest" of Mexico continue to go unnoticed?

Mojados...

Two tidbits from along the Rio Grande... Fishermen capture 7.5-foot croc in Rio Grande Associated Press

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Mexican fishermen captured a 7.5-foot-long crocodile in the Rio Grande, the river that divides Mexico and the United States, and turned the animal over to a local animal shelter, authorities reported today. The animal was caught on a fisherman's line on Saturday in a sparsely populated stretch of the river on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas The crocodile weighed about 130 pounds and appeared to be in good condition, said Jose Moreno Araiza, a commander of the Nuevo Laredo fire department, where the fishermen first brought the animal in the back of a pickup truck. It was then turned over to the local Animal Protection Society, whose president, Gina Ferrara, said the croc would be kept for the time being in improvised holding area complete with a pool of water. Federal environmental officials were informed of the capture, and will eventually decide what is to be done with the animal. Crocodiles do not normally inhabit the Rio Grande, and authorities believe it may have been brought to the area as a pet and then released into the river by its owner. Undocumented migrants frequently swim or ride inner tubes across the Rio Grande to reach the United States. Nuevo Laredo Environmental Department biologist Irvin Donath Paredes said the croc appeared to be young and in good physical condition. "We'll have to see what species it is, but it's young, three or four years old, judging by the texture of its skin and the size of its head," said Donath Paredes.

CROCS? My neighbor is a misplaced crocodile specialist (he did his dissertation in Tabasco, Belize and Thailand), who moved here to teach biology at Sul Ross, after a stint at an Indian College in South Dakota. He's pumped! And, yeah, it was a croc, not an alligator, though I wouldn't want to get close enough to tell the difference. And... Jesse Bogan of the San Antonio Express-News managed to find two people who actually support the Great Wall of Texas.

In Laredo, Ray Segura, owner of Segura Fence Co., said he's eager to compete for government contracts to help build the fence. He already has teamed up with a San Antonio company to submit a bid. "There's going to be a lot of contracts, there's going to be a lot of bidding, there's going to be a lot of action," Segura said. He said that based on his experience, the fence probably would be built on an easement along the river that the government owns and runs along the entire border, usually 30 to 50 feet wide. He estimated it would take about two to three months per mile of construction for a thick wire fence with holes too small to fit a boot in; twice as long if it is a double fence, as Congress wants. Also standing to gain was a shirtless man with a tattoo of a bat on his chest. He was drinking beer last week with two colleagues along the river where smugglers commonly bring immigrants in rafts from the Mexican town of Miguel Alemán to the Texas town of Roma. The self-described "patero," or smuggler, sat among trash, just beyond the reach of flies buzzing around a dead animal. "We aren't politicians, we are ruffians. It's going to be more difficult (to cross), but it's going to cost more money," said the man, who appeared to be about 40 and declined to give his name. "If they want to spend the money on the wall," he said with the flick of a hand, "then spend it."

Bishops battle over Oaxaca

Archbishop Raul Vera of Saltillo, a clerical "liberal" -- and Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez of Guadelajara, a "conservative" -- both want the Oxaca situation solved now. While it's still unusual to see churchmen commenting on political issues, what's very odd is the open disagreement between them. Vera blames the political parties for protecting Governor Ruiz, whom he says "no longer has anything to do" and is just "delying his exit" . He says the state has been kidnapped from the people by the politicans, who -- like in Morelos, where corrupt PAN governor Sergio Estrada Cajigal remained in office by openly bribing state legislators to vote against his impeachment despite his known ties to organized crime and huge demonstrations against him (and where one municipality overthrew the local government and set up a people's municipality which the State attempted to put down by force), the Saltillo archbisop called the government response a "terrorist tactic". "Neither the nation nor the people of Oaxaca should run the risk of violence just to protect the career of Ulises Ruiz," he said. Vera was formerly Co-adjucator Bishop of Chiapas. Chiapas bishops have a tradition, going back to their first bishop, Bartelemo de las Casas, of defending the people against the ruling powers. Las Casas was America's first investigative reporter. His letters to the King and the Pope, later published as "The Destruction of the Indies" ended both Indian slavery and led the Pope to publish a Bull, Sublimis Deus (1537) settling the question of the Indian's souls once and forever. In Catholic America, anyway, the Indians were people, who might be exploited and cheated and abused by the powers that be... but unlike in the English-speaking parts of the Americas, they were not pushed aside, killed off and forced into reservations. Samuel Ruiz, the former Bishop of Chiapas (and Vera's sometimes collaborator) was forced into early retirement by Pope John-Paul II, in part because of the Mexican government's complaints that Ruiz was giving aid and comfort to the Zapatistas (Bishop Ruiz used to keep a state map in his office, showing non-Zapatista regions as "occupied territory"). Meanwhile, Cardinal Sandoval -- whose best known political act was organizing street protests when he was indicted for interfering with a murder investigation (his predecessor was assassinated, either by mistake [both the late Cardinal and the local crime boss drove black Buick Rivieras] or to cover up... something. Sandoval tried to pass off forged evidence suggesting a government plot. The prosecutor was looking into ties between the Guadalajara Archdiocese and narcotics trafficers) is a law and order man. He spoke to a miliary group, defending the state's right to defend against aggression, foreign and domestic. Jesus Christ was not available for comment.

Playboys of the Southwestern World

We actually have three radio stations in Alpine, but the college station (that was being run by profs over the summer, and was heavy on Led Zepplin, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson) doesn't have much of a broadcast range and fades in and out around the mountain roads. The second station is trying to save me, and bring me to Jesus through really bad music. The other choice has baseball, local news and BOTH kinds of music -- Country and Western.

It also introduced me to a guy I'd never heard of, Blake Shelton... who has a good version of this classic on Mexican tourism... and yeah, I know. But I couldn't find any other pictures of two cowboys with an old truck. Besides, who knows?

(Neal Coty/Randy VanWarmer, ©2003) This is a song About best friends John Roy Was a boy I knew Since he was three And I was two Grew up two little houses Down from me The only two bad apples On our family tree Kind of ripened and rotted In our puberty Two kindred spirits bound by destiny Well now I was smart But I lacked ambition Johnny was wild With no inhibition Was about like mixin Fire and gasoline (And he'd say) Hey Romeo Let's go down to Mexico Chase senoritas Drink ourselves silly Show them Mexican girls A couple of real hillbillies Got a pocket full of cash And that old Ford truck A fuzzy cat hangin From the mirror for luck Said don't you know All those little Brown-eyed girls Want playboys of the southwestern world Long around Our eighteenth year We found two plane tickets The hell out of here Got scholarships To some small town School in Texas Learned to drink Sangria Til the dawns early light Eat eggs Ranchero And throw up all night And tell those daddy's girls We were majoring in a rodeo Ah but my Favorite memory At school that fall Was the night John Roy Came runnin down the hall Wearin nothin But cowboy boots And a big sombrero (And he was yellin) Hey Romeo Let's go down to Mexico Chase senoritas Drink ourselves silly Show them Mexican girls A couple of real hillbillies Got a pocket full of cash And that old Ford truck A fuzzy cat hangin From the mirror for luck Said don't you know All those little Brown-eyed girls Want playboys of the southwestern world And I said We had a little Change in plans Like when Paul McCartney Got busted in Japan And I said We got waylaid When we laid foot On Mexican soil See the boarder guard With the Fu Manchu mustache Kind of stumbled on John's Pocket full of American cash He said Doin a little funny business In Mexico Amigo But all I could think about Was savin my own tail When he mentioned ten years In a Mexican jail So I pointed to John Roy and said It's all his now please let me go Well it was your idea genius I was just layin there in bed When you said Hey Romeo Let's go down to Mexico Chase senoritas Drink ourselves silly Show them Mexican girls A couple of real hillbillies

Got a pocket full of cash And that old Ford truck A fuzzy cat hangin From the mirror for luck Said don't you know All those little Brown-eyed girls Want playboys of the southwestern world Ah we're still best friends Temporary cell mates

Ulises Ruiz... the Denny Hastert of Mexico?

... or... I've fallen and I can't get up! No... not that he's covering up sex crimes (that'd be Enrique Peña, the PRI-governor of the State of Mexico)but that he's trying to blame his own incompetence on others -- or, rather on others who expose his incompetence. Another key ally, PAN congressional leader, Jorge Zermeño, is now calling for Ruiz' resignation. The Fox administration has been claiming that destitution (that is the legal term for removing an incompetent elected official) would be undemocratic, but... given that it's the people who want Ruiz out... nothing undemocratic about it at all (assuming he was even democratically elected to begin with -- which is, itself, a dubious proposition, as reported yesterday in ¡Para justicia y liberdad!). What foreign reports fail to note (though the ¡Para justicia...! report does note) is that much of the opposition comes from PRI organziations within Oaxaca. It's the party's own fault -- trying to be everything to everybody for too many years, it's natural that there are huge blocs in opposition. Just like Denny Hastert cannot on the one hand claim he's representing a "moral majority" while simultanously presiding over immoral and unethical blocs within that same party. Along with party-leader Zermada of PAN, the PRD congressional delegation is now also calling for destitution, which the Senate has every right to do. Maybe President Fox forgot how democratic it was back when he tried to have AMLO destituted by the Senate about two years ago. As Kelly Arthur Garrett reports in today's Mexico City Herald:

"Not only is (Ruiz) unable to govern, he is responsible for the breakdown of political and social coexistence in Oaxaca," said Carlos Navarrete, the PRD Senate coordinator. "The state legislature has difficulty holding sessions ... the state capital is socially and economically paralyzed ... tens of thousands of children have been out of school for months, (and) the productive sector is suffering enormous losses." The Senate´s Interior Committee would hear debate on the removal procedure, known as "desaparición de poderes públicos," or disappearance of state control. The membership of that committee was just decided on Tuesday. Presiding over it will be Jesús Murillo Karam, a PRI senator opposed to the removal of Ruiz. But Javier González Garza, the PRD floor leader in the Chamber of Deputies, said he was confident that all sides will soon realize that a Ruiz exit is the only way forward toward a solution to the Oaxaca crisis. "His resignation alone won´t solve all the problems, but the problems won´t be resolved without his resignation," he said. "Ulises has to step aside to clear the way for all the parties involved to discuss (solutions)." González Garza said he supported an effort in the Senate to have Ruiz removed, but said he thinks the governor will step down before the process is complete. "He´s already fallen," the deputy said. "But nobody has told him yet."

Meanwhile, the APPO and citizen's representatives (led by Francisco Toledo) have walked out of negotiations within Mexico City, claiming Ruiz has to go before talks can continue. Ruiz was present at the meeting. "He's already fallen..." sounds like Hastert to me.

MINUTEMEN INVADE MEXICO!!!!!!!

Nothing happens. Hey, Romeo... Let's go down to Mexico. I gotta an Ford Truck and a pocketful of dough. Let's go down to Mexico. You-Tube video It's dull, but watch the very end... Billy Bob and Bubba Jue had a nice time looking at girls in Nuevo Laredo, and gawking... which is fine. But they really, really, really ought not to bring firearms into Mexico. What part of "illegal" don't they understand?

The Great Wall of Texas... good for (shady) business

From Guadalajara-based Canadian journalist David Agren's "Tales from the Chicken Bus"...

Politics and hurt feelings aside – the Mexican government likens the barrier to the Berlin Wall and considers the construction plans unneighborly – the biggest beneficiary will probably be polleros (traffickers), whose business of smuggling migrants should become a whole lot more lucrative. In an insightful column in today's Publico (Guadalajara), editor Luis Miguel Gonzalez laid out the polleros' economics. According to a 1993 study, one of every six undocumented migrants hired a pollero. By 2004, the figure jumped to two out of every five. The value of the human-smuggling business is estimated to be worth $5 billion annually.

In Oaxaca they hate the gov'nor... now we all did what we could do...

(Edited 14:30, Wednesday) Xicanopwr and The Unapologetic Mexican present an excellent backgrounder on Oaxaca. Kelly Arthur Garrett (the "Mexico's best damn political reporter in English") with help Justino Miranda in Cuautla, Morelos and Jorge Octavio Ochoa in Oaxaca presents an overview in today's Mexico City Herald:

Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal told Congress Tuesday that the federal government has no intention of using force to end the four-month-old civil strife that has closed the state´s schools, paralyzed Oaxaca City´s Historic Center and rendered the state government virtually impotent. Abascal, the Fox administration official in charge of the ever-intensifying Oaxaca crisis, was interrupted and jeered by placard-carrying Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) legislators, but managed to make his point in no uncertain terms. "In the name of God, we will carry out absolutely no repression," he said. But in the kind of hedged language that has convinced many striking teachers and allied social groups that a federal crackdown is imminent, Abascal also said the Fox administration would be within its rights in sending in federal police or military troops. "The Constitution establishes the obligation of authorities to re-establish law and order," he told a full session of the Chamber of Deputies. "But I am not anticipating an intervention." Abascal´s invocation of the deity in his remarks to Congress later prompted a wry response from a teachers´ spokesperson 100 kilometers away. "He (Abascal) preaches from the pulpit with a crucifix in his right hand and a club in his left," said Omar Olivera Espinosa, spokesperson for a contingent of several thousand teachers and their supporters who are marching from the city of Oaxaca to Mexico City. Olivera made his comment in the town of Amilcingo in the state of Morelos, where the marchers rested Tuesday night. Abascal criticized the Oaxaca teachers and the Oaxaca People´s Assembly (APPO) for spurning recent invitations to dialogue. "The efforts that this secretariat have made have not always been responded to," he said. "We will continue to do everything within our reach." Abascal urged strike leaders to participate in a "forum" scheduled for Wednesday, at which bankers, business leaders, clergy members, party leaders and elected legislators plan to discuss a proposed reform package called the Pact for Governability, Peace and Development for Oaxaca. But the union leaders announced Tuesday night that they would skip the forum, saying the list of participants was stacked in favor of "interest groups." Instead, Oaxaca teachers union leader Enrique Rueda Pacheco said a formal request had been sent to the Interior Secretariat for an "alternate table" at the forum, separate from the clergy, the business leaders and the governor. If that request is honored, he said, the teachers will consider making the trip to Mexico City. APPO leaders were still meeting Tuesday night to decide if they would follow suit with the teachers. The teachers broke off talks with the federal government on Sept. 20 after becoming convinced that their demand for the ouster of Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz would not be honored. Fox and Abascal´s National Action Party (PAN) has sided with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in protecting Ruiz, though so far the PRI is the only political force openly calling for the use of federal troops to protect Ruiz´s state government. APPO joined the teachers´ protest in June, after Ruiz decided to physically challenge the strikers instead of negotiating with them. But the dozens of labor and social organizations that eventually united in APPO had opposed Ruiz long before his failed attempt to remove the striking teachers from their encampments in downtown Oaxaca City. "There are robust antecedents in the authoritarian style of the previous governor, José Murat, who left behind (in 2004) a social polarization," said political scientist Alberto Aziz Nassif in his weekly EL UNIVERSAL column Tuesday. The PRI has had such a longtime lock on Oaxaca politics that Ruiz´s 2004 victory over a coalition candidate representing all the other parties was seen not as an indication of his popularity but a confirmation of the PRI´s ability to manipulate the electoral process in that state. "Ulises came in with a credibility deficit and started right in with repressive actions against social leaders and an attack on independent media outlets, such as the daily Noticias," said Aziz. Only the PRD has backed the teachers and APPO in calling for Ruiz to step down, and in ruling out federal force under any circumstances. PRD leaders said Tuesday they have called off a planned Oaxaca City meeting of their national committee that had been announced for Wednesday. PRD secretary-general Guadalupe Acosta, who originally promoted the presence of the PRD leadership in the heart of the conflict as a deterrent to violence, said Tuesday he feared the meeting would be used as a pretext for trouble. With talks stalled, the marchers steadily approaching Mexico City and Oaxaca kids still out of school, the crisis has turned into a kind of slow-motion waiting game. Military helicopters circling over Oaxaca on Sunday and Monday added to the tension, as did several explosives set off in front of Oaxaca buildings Monday. Federal Attorney General Office spokespersons on Tuesday said the bombs (which hurt nobody and did little damage) may have been the work of known guerrilla groups such as the Revolutionary People´s Army (EPR) using a new alias [see below] APPO and the teachers suspect the explosions were deliberate provocations by authorities to justify a federal crackdown. "If a political solution is achieved and Ruiz leaves ... that would be a triumph of the political process," said Aziz. "But if force is resorted to, that will only aggravate the conflict. We´ll see."

The teachers' march has reached Mexico City, and talks bbetween APPO, the Federal and State Government, the Catholic Church and a citizens group led by Francisco Toledo are still scheduled to start Wednesday (tomorrow). Oaxaca Tense at start of Talks

(I know it's the Cuban News Agency... but for "just the facts" news, they generally have better Latin American coverage than the U.S. and Canadian press) Mexico, Oct 3 (Prensa Latina) Tension still prevails in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, though the Secretariat of Government has guaranteed security will be maintained to resume talks with its social movement. Oaxaca residents are on the alert, after military planes flew over the city last weekend, three firecrackers exploded in the banking area, and one student is missing. Also, the tense situation persists amid the risk of an intervention by the federal forces to solve the socio-political conflict in Oaxaca, whose residents are demanding the dismissal of governor Ulises Ruiz. The resumption of negotiations with the leadership of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) is scheduled for Wednesday, when the so called pact for the governability, peace, and development of the state is expected to be signed. Regarding this, President Vicente Fox assured his government will spare no effort in solving the Oaxaca conflict, but warned that if things do not work out, those who violate the law will be punished. Fox also indicated his administration favors talks and is working hard to reach all the agreements necessary to solve the crisis democratically.

Jornada Enrique Méndez with Octavio Vélez in Oaxaca (Jornada)my translation

The People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) has responded to Interior Minister Carlos Abascal Carranza, saying that if the Army enters the State Capital, "you can be sure, it's lot us who will be running." APPO leader Flavio Sosa said Abascal is talking out of both sides of his mouth, warning us we need to bargain in good faith, while issuing an ultimatum we aren't going to accept. Also this morning, Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz appeared in Llano Park to "inaugurate" a stone image of the Virgin of Guadalupe produced in a local quarry, protected by about 500 municipal and ministerial police. Ruiz took advantage of the occasion to demand the Federal government "takes the side of the citizens who want their rights restored," because "federal crimes were committed by the civil movement that is demanding he stepped down, contrary to law." "We are going to meet the needs of a society that is fed up", he added. APPO considered Ruiz' appearance, in an armored SUV surrounded by armed guards as a provocation. In other news, a tense situation has developed in the community of San Antonino Castillo where the head of the local Padres de Familia (an organization something like the PTA, crossed with the Christian Coalition -- trans. note) shot the APPO selected police chief, and was taken into custody by the community.

Read that last paragraph again... where is the violence coming from? And, it looks to me like the APPO is not just an anarchist group, but has been taking the necessary steps to form functioning municipal governments. Fishy to me... A few bombs went off the other morning outside banks in downtown Oaxaca, supposedly set by some group calling itself the "Revolutionary Armed Organization of the People of Oaxaca" according to the professional anti-terroritsts (it's a security consulting firm) "Strafor" . When I first read about it, I remembered the similar incident about two years ago in Morelos, where another crooked governor was fighting for his political life (though in Morelos, it was only one non-conforming municipality). Then, the alleged "bank bombing terrorists" turned out to be the State Police... part of the plan to force the feds to intervene. Apparently, that's what's going on here, though the new "Revolutionary Armed Organization" could be any number of groups ... pro or anti- Ulises. Organized Crime Special Prosecutor José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos said the story didn't pass the smell test. There is still common sense on the Federal level.

Something old, something new (not Oaxaca, not politics)

This fellow showed up Tuesday at Templo Mayor, where he's been hiding in plain sight on Mexico City's Zocalo since 1524 or so. (Photo: AP)

2 Octubre: Tlatelolco 1968... Oaxaca 2006

Today is another anniversary. 2 October 1968 is -- or should be -- on everyone's mind when we talk about Oaxaca. Then, as now, the "intellegencia" and the people (ordinary people) said ¡No Mas! to corruption and missed opportunities and misplaced national priorities. Then, the Secretaria de Gobernacion and the President took "drastic measures" against "anarchy." Tlatelolco was the beginning of the end of the old system. The army itself spent decades undoing the shame (it's apocryphical, but the General who fired on the Politechnical High School is said to have spent the rest of his life apologizing to school kids... and telling the Presidents that the Army was not trained to attack High Schools). The PRI no longer automatically was THE party of all. And, the people no longer automatically trusted the President. Now... Oaxaca. The Secretaria de Gobernacion, Carlos Abascal may come from a fascist family, and he may represent the "law n' order" side of PAN, but he is, publically anyway, telling the press that there is no "war" in Oaxaca. And, "thanks" to George W. Bush's mishandling of the immigration question, there's little chance the Mexicans are paying attention to U.S. claims of "subversion". While there isn't any good explaination for naval overflight of Oaxaca and the obvious explanation is that the Mexican Marines are supporting PPF officers who are ready to enter the City,, it may be that Fox is just playing hardball, getting everyone to reach an agreement. I'm still hopeful for a peaceful settlement. Life, it seems, goes on even under trying circumstances. I received the following e-mail last Sunday from a non-political foreign resident of Oaxaca:

I wish I knew what "The Real Story" is.

As I stepped out of the plaza on my way to the market this morning, I noted a whole bus load of tourist, and more tourist than I have seen in days wandering down the street, and even some more in the Internet cafe. Not droves of them as in years past, but a sprinkling here and there, gives one hope.

In the market I see a flower seller creating an arrangement of flowers in a basket, it is the type that the dancers wear are their head in a festival, and that tells me much, there is always hope in preparation for a festival, you know. Again, daily, I find Oaxaca to be friendly, hopeful, full of color, smells, taste, art, smiles, Oaxaca continues to be kind to me. I went to a new exhibition down at the Museum on Garcia Vigil and Independence this evening, there are the works of various artist celebrating the life of Benito Juarez, took in more than I could digest, walked away stuffed on colors, textures, concepts.

Wandered down thru a Zocolo which is packed with sellers selling tourist stuff to no tourist, it is late and the few tourist I saw earlier today are no longer out. Ironic that APPO gave the ambulatory sellers their rights to work the Zocolo that the governor had revoked a year ago when he remodeledand now there are no tourist to sell to. Oh well, that was a no win situation. If his cabinet had not wasted the money remodeling, and not chased out the sellers, oh well, it is done.

So, as I wander, past the stalls, I see this little kid sleeping in a crate and I just know this is a perfect picture. I ask his Mom if I can shoot, she looks at her husband, I comment to him, "es por arte" and with those magic words, he nods in agreement. I get my picture, and buy a fuzzy little yellow wind up chicky toy from them for my granddaughter. I walk past a kid twirling fire batons in a ring of fire, I get another good shot. Up Alcala on my way home, it is almost deserted now. I stop for a second to ask the guy selling bus tickets about transport, he assures me all is normal as usual, one can take a first class bus to Mexico City anytime they want. I stop in and buy popcorn from a couple of girls in the ice cream shop, I am the only client and as I pay while I wait for the popcorn to pop, the girl ask me if I want a receipt, I tell her not to concern herself, I doubt she will confuse me with the non existent customers crowding the place. We have a great laugh over that concept. It never ceases to amaze me how no matter if these are difficult times, it is so easy to raise a smile or a laugh out of someone here. And again, I realize how blessed I am to have chosen my path to be Oaxaca.

The Unapologetic Mexican, is, as always, eloquent on the "big picture":

Look to Mexico, swarmed upon by the same criminals that have lived throughout time, in every land. Look to Mexico, where the people understand that it is better to die bloodied and with your heart and hands in accordance, than it is to ride a comfortable chair to Hell. Look to Mexico, the land that birthed the man who said Es mejor morir de pie, que continuar viviendo de rodillas. It is better to die on your feet than it is to continue to live on your knees. Look to Mexico, in her time of need. But do not look with pity, for she will live on, and her spirit will never die. Regardless of what el gobierno does or does not do. Look to her to know better how we ought to live. Perhaps you and I can draw strength from those proud people. For it is you and I—right here in America and snoozing in the shadow of those same dark forces that Oaxacans meet with axe handles and gasoline—who are in true need of help.

He's still dead...

THANKS, Francisco! Today is the 70th anniversary of Franco's assumption of power as head of the Army and Head of State in Spain. This was one of the great tragedies of the last century, but Europe's loss was Mexico's gain.

Mexico was still recovering from the Revolution in 1936. Pre-revolutionary Mexico had depended on outside expertise for much of its industry and commerce.

Mexico's extremely liberal asylum policies (if you could find a job, and you were fleeing political persecution, you were welcome to stay as long as you liked) and the Mexican government's anti-fascist tilt (you can still claim automatic immigrant status if you're fleeing a fascist state), meant Spain -- and Europe's -- loss was Mexico's gain. It wasn't just artists and intellectuals like Luis Buñuel, but businessmen and engineers and ordinary workers arrived bringing needed skills at a time when the whole world was in a depression.

And they continued to come until Franco was dead. I had a student whose dad had come from Catalonia at 16 to avoid the draft. Santa Maria la Ribera, my Mexico City neighborhood, went from a conservative to a leftist stronghold, thanks in good part to cheap housing available in the 30s, and the large number of Spaniards (and later German, French, Polish and Dutch refugees) who found apartments in the neighborhood.

In the Franco Era, Mexico City was the center of Hispanic culture and arts. The Colegio de Mexico and Fondaction de Cultura, originally "Spanish Republican" institutes in exile, are major publishers and academic insitutes. It would be impossible to name all the Spanish cafes, publishers, art galleries dating from the Francoist era.

Mexico's support for the Republic went beyond the "good Mexican bullets" Ernest Hemingway wrote of. The Republic still existed -- as a government-in-exile in Mexico. The photo below has nothing to do with Mexico, but it shows the stupidity of that regime. Eva Peron, hardly a democrat, adn not the smartest economist on the planet still knew the basics. She was trying to sell Argentine wheat to Spain. "What for?" asked el caudillo? "So there's something edible in your bread." Evita replied.

For many years, Spaniards could receive Republican passports upon arrival, no questions asked. And come they did. Some were just hungry, and couldn't afford Argentine wheat. Some, like Opus Dei supporters, wanted to implant Francoismo in Mexico. The county has become more conservative, but I have to admit that their flagship, Universidad de Anahuac, does turn out some smart alumni. Some -- like Vincente Fox's mother -- were Basques who saw no future in Francoist Spain.

Basque culture survived, more, sometimes in Mexico than in the Basque country. In Mexico, Basques kept the language in literature alive. In the Basque country, persecuted beyond all reason, they became what are now called "terrorists". However, the "Basque Terrorists" did the world a great favor. In 1974 when they blew up Franco's successor, Luis Carrero Blanco, with a hundred kilos of dynamite under his armored Dodge Dart. Launched five stories straight up, and coming down on an apartment house, Carrero Blanco became Spain's first astronaut. Thankfully, he didn't survive the experience, and neither did Francoismo. There is some suggestion that Mexican Basques were involved in the operation.

Modern Spain is progressive (Franco probably hasn't stopped spinning in his grave from the marriage of two gay air force officers -- by a mayor who belongs to the successor party of the Falange earlier this year)and wealthy. The huge change it underwent after Franco's death is due to two factors -- my buddy, King Juan-Carlos took good advise, and the Mexico's tolerant and liberal social (not political) climate kept Spanish culture alive during the 40 years of darkness.