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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2006 
Mexican Teachers Force Festival Suspension
 Rebeca Romero - Associated Press
| | Striking teachers stand behind a road sign used as part of a blockade near the venue of an annual cultural festival, called the Guelaguetza, in Oaxaca July 17, 2006. The governor of Oaxaca has postponed the state's largest annual festival, which attracts tourists from Mexico and abroad, after striking teachers demanding his resignation blockaded the venue and set the stage on fire. (Reuters/Jorge Luis Plata) |
The governor of Mexico's Oaxaca state said Monday that he was suspending an internationally popular cultural festival because of fears that thousands of striking teachers will threaten tourists.
The Guelaguetza, a weeklong event celebrating the music, art and food of local Indian cultures, dates back to 1700. It draws more than 20,000 people each year.
"I made the decision to reschedule the Guelaguetza to avoid the risk of tourist aggression by radical groups," Gov. Ulises Ruiz said over state radio and television.
He did not say when the festival, which had been scheduled to start Monday, would begin.
Hotels in Oaxaca city, a colorful state capital popular with both Mexican and foreign tourists about 325 miles southeast of Mexico City, planned to offer alternative recreation plans to guests who came to attend the festival, government officials said.
The teacher's union has taken over parts of the city's central plaza and last weekend blocked the entrances to popular hotels as part of a protest launched on May 22.
About 70,000 public school teachers are taking part in the strike. Most of the state's 1.3 million grade- and high-school students are on summer vacation.
The teachers are demanding salary increases totaling about $125 million, but the government has said it doesn't have the money. State officials have offered the teachers less than one-tenth that amount in pay raises.
Catholic Archbishop Jose Luis Chavez has called on both sides to find a solution, but acknowledged that chances for quickly resolving the situation are slim.
"Social peace in Oaxaca is in danger because of the refusal to negotiate from both sides," Chavez said. |
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