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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2006 
Gunmen Attack Student Radio Station in Escalating Confrontation
 Rebecca Romero - Associated Press
| | A tourist uses his video camera as he stands near graffiti which translates as 'Tourists go home, Oaxaca is anti-capitalist' at a wall in downtown Oaxaca, 500 Km (350 miles) south of Mexico City, last week. More than a month of protests and blockades by striking teachers trying to oust the state governor have forced authorities to cancel the city's famed cultural events, including a traditional dance festival and as most tourists are staying away, the protests are costing the city millions in tourism revenues. (AP/Alexandre Meneghini) |
Oaxaca, Mexico – A group of gunmen attacked Oaxaca's university radio station, authorities said Sunday, the latest incident in a wave of confrontations and protests that have driven many tourists out of this historic city.
The assailants fired rounds of ammunition into the station's windows while it was broadcasting late Saturday, the Oaxaca state government said in a news release. Nobody was hurt in the attack.
The university radio station has supported a wave of protests aimed at ousting Oaxaca state governor Ulises Ruiz, who is accused of rigging the election to win office in 2004 and violently repressing dissent.
Teachers Union leader Enrique Rueda, who is one of the protest leaders, accused Ruiz of being behind the shooting.
Ruiz “has always responded to popular protests with aggression, threats, repression, and authoritarianism,” Rueda said.
However, Ruiz's office condemned the attack in a statement. The state government is trying to negotiate with the protesters, it said.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by at least 10 assailants wearing ski masks, who drove up in three trucks and used automatic rifles.
Dozens of protesters, including teachers, students and leftist activists, went with sticks and stones to guard the radio.
The protests erupted in late June after police attacked a demonstration of striking teachers looking for a wage increase of about 20 percent.
Thousands of demonstrators have camped out in the Oaxaca City center, spraying buildings with revolutionary slogans, smashing the windows of a hotel and building makeshift barricades of corrugated iron and car tires.
Business groups say the protests have reduced tourism by 75 percent and cost them more than $45 million (euro36 million) in lost earnings. They are asking the federal government to intervene to stop the protests and declare Oaxaca a disaster area so they can get funds normally reserved for areas hit by hurricanes and earthquakes.
Associated Press correspondent Ioan Grillo contributed to this report in Mexico City. |
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