Silvia Gabriela Hernández
Notes from Oaxaca
The following collection of articles on Oaxacan radical movements between January and September 2008 was translated from a number of different sources and posted to libcom's forums. They provide a number of useful insights into the situation in the volatile Mexican region.
The background:
In 2006 the Mexican state of Oaxaca was embroiled in a conflict that lasted more than seven months and resulted in at least eighteen deaths and the temporary occupation of the capital city of Oaxaca by the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO).
To Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes
Two years on from your murder, this movement continues forward, despite all the differences and finds its way by means of honest and faternal dialogue. It is in this way, through that brotherhood and honesty of which you were an example, that we believe we have found a clear and solid form of linking together the different resistances and of constructing alternatives to this dominatory system that keeps Oaxaca and the entire world under its yoke.
“The true man goes to the roots.
To be radical is no more that this: he who goes to the roots.
He who does not see things in their depth should not call himself radical.
Nor that man who does not aid the security and speech of other men.”
José Marti
Compañero Lorenzo San Pablo:
Oaxaca: Overcoming the Fear. The long struggle for dignity
Article analysing the Oaxcan social movement from within, looking at its history, present and future and identifying obstacles to be overcome. Written by activists intimately involved with grassroots organisation and struggle.
(This article was prepared for a special edition of the magazine “La Guillotina” dedicated to the topic “Re-thinking the Left in Mexico”)
“This is not a movement of leaders, but of bases”
