Feature Archives

Bay Area supporters have announced that on the day after the next attack on Oaxaca, protests will be held at the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco (532 Folsom St.) at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Nov. 10th–12th: APPO Constitutional Congress convenes in Oaxaca | Oaxaca at Any Cost

Nov. 10th: The Names of Oaxaca's Disappeared

Nov. 8th: Shortly after midnight, Ministerial (State) Police reportedly shot live ammunition at people on the Carrillo Puerto barricade; no one was injured. At around 1 a.m., gun shots were reported near the Soriana barricade, and there were six arrests at the Carrillo Puerto barricade. Women's march | Student's march | Memorials to the fallen | More APPO photos | The story of the takeover of Canal 9 state-run TV station

Nov. 7th: The APPO women's march in Oaxaca was attacked by the Policía Federal Preventiva (PFP), and a total of 16 protesters were arrested in Oaxaca throughout the day, including eight people kidnapped off the street by agents in a white van, according to reports on APPO Radio. Report and photos | Faces of Oaxaca | More photos from the barricades

Nov. 6th: Radio Universidad (in Spanish) Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Nov. 5th: After a week of defending their barricades, more than a million people joined the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca's (APPO) 6th Mega March. This morning, paramilitary forces repeated their pattern of early morning gunfire at the barricades, wounding 22-year-old Marco Sanchez Mertinez; he is in grave condition. 12 buses and a caravan of cars arrived from Mexico City for the march. Photos and Audio Report and Written Report from today. Read minute-to-minute updates from Oaxaca on NYC IMC. Nov. 5th in Oaxaca by Tristan | Photos from Nov. 5th by Barucha Calamity

Nov. 3rd: Radio Universidad, the movement's only remaining radio station, was successfully defended on Nov. 2nd after fierce battles with the Federal Police. Photos: 1 | 2 | Listen to live Radio Universidad coverage | Foreigners and Journalists Threatened in Oaxaca by Danielsan and Ariel

November 3rd, 2006 - danielsan and ariel write: The climate for journalists has worsened in the days since the Federal Police occupied Oaxaca City. Today we talked to Juan Carlos Gomez, who until recently worked with a local radio station. He says he had recieved repeated threats on his life, and today was beaten by several men whom he believes are the same men who were shooting at Barricade 3 last friday, and that they were some of the same men who shot and killed Brad Will. In the interview below he describes the attack, saying 'They hit me in the stomach and the mouth... I fell back on the ground and felt a kick to my neck. I ran to the Cinco Señores [an intersection near the University] where I passed out. Some people picked me up and took me to the clinic [behind the barricades protecting Radio Universidad].'
Audio: Download the mp3 (es) (3 min. 17 sec.)

With the PFP in town, local PRIistas are threatening members of APPO, teachers, and visible members of the Oaxacan resistance, including members of the organization CIPO-RFM (Consejo Indigena Popular de Oaxaca - Ricardo Flores Magón), as well as foreigners in general and foreign journalists especially. Indymedia has an especially high profile due to Brad's affiliation with NYC indymedia. We've heard rumors that indymedia is on the minds and lips of PRIistas and government loyalists high up the chain of command, who have claimed that indymedia correspondents take orders from APPO, and that foreigners are stirring up trouble and encouraging the continuing resistance. Read more and view photos

In San Jose, people will gather for a protest at the Mexican Consulate (115 4th y St. John at 2pm and at 540 N. 1st St. at 3pm) today from 2-7pm, and on Saturday, November 4th, a 6pm prayer vigil and rally, followed by a screening of films from Oaxaca, at Mi Pueblo Market at Story and King Roads.
At 5pm on Tuesday, October 31st, hundreds of people protested at the Mexican Consulate to condemn the repression in Oaxaca. Fake blood was thrown on the door of the consulate and one person was arrested. ( Photos: 1 | 2 ). Protests and vigils were held at Mexican consulates all over the world starting in the morning on Monday Oct. 30th. List In SF, protesters met Monday at the Mexican Consulate (532 Folsom St) at 7am ( Photos: 1 | 2 | Video ), and 5pm.
Reports from Oaxaca: 10/31: Photos | 10/30: Text by Tristan | Photos and text by Danielsan

On Sunday in Oaxaca, tanks and large machinery were used in the government in efforts to tear down barricades. Thousands of women, children, and men were in the streets, enduring attacks with tear gas and other chemical weapons. There were reports that several protesters were killed by the police, including one child. Many who have been abducted are being taken to Ixcotel Penitentary and military camps and are being beaten there. They are also raiding and destroying homes in Oaxaca, as happened in Atenco.

A film screening will be held at Station 40 on Wednesday night at 7pm, with funds raised going to people in Oaxaca.

According to Friday evening's reports from Radio APPO and other sources, paramilitaries began an assault on Oaxaca, which has been held by the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) for over 5 months. People were killed, injured, disappeared, and hospitalized. New York City Indymedia reporter Brad Will (William Bradley Roland) was shot in the chest and killed, while Oswaldo Ramírez, photographer for Milenio Diario, has also been shot and is injured. Brad Will's Video from Friday APPO also confirmed that schoolteacher Emilio Alfonso Fabián died from three bullet wounds after an attack by shooters for Ulises Ruiz Ortiz outside the state government palace. Reportes en español: 1 | 2 | English: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 There were several protests over the weekend. People gathered Saturday at 7pm at San Francisco City Hall for a vigil for Oaxaca and the 5 people who were killed there on Friday. Photos: 1 | 2
Day of the Dead Memorial Altars: Barricade 3 | Calicanto

October 23rd: Oaxacan Teachers Reject Return to School: SNTE Still on Strike!

danielsan reports from Oaxaca City, Mexico - There have been two APPO supporters killed this week: a painter and a teacher. Two autopsies filmed by human rights observers, two memorials in the Zocalo. There have been many more over the past few months, but as more time passes it seems like the violence comes in waves. They're starting to use the term "death squads" to describe the teams of out-of-uniform cops and military that are always found responsible for the shootings at the barricades or at the building occupations. There are some soldiers and cops around from time to time. Read more, photos and audio

At noon on October 18th, 2006, members of AFSCME 3299 and their supporters marched from the Bay Tree Plaza to the base of campus, where a roving picket line was held, followed by a rally. The workers have been engaged in a year-long struggle to receive wages similiar to those of neighboring colleges and universities where people can make up to 30% more for the same (or less) work. Over the summer, the California State Assembly passed legislation funding these wage increases, yet UC President Dynes has been holding the money hostage as a way of forcing union concessions over pension issues. Photos: 1 | 2

On October 18, the California Sixth District Court of Appeals reversed the March 2005 conviction of medical marijuana caregiver and patient, Roger Mentch, for cultivation and possession of marijuana intended for sale. The court recognized the legitimacy of Mentch's caregiver defense under the 1996 Compassionate Care Act, which was forbidden during his first trial.