Teachers, police clash in Mexico

waltky · Jun 19, 2016

4 dead in clashes between police, teachers in Mexico...

Clashes between police, teachers leave 4 dead in Mexico
Jun 19,`16) -- Violent clashes between police and unionized teachers who were blockading roads and burning vehicles in southern Mexico left at least four people dead on Sunday, according to union and state officials.

The teachers from the radical National Coordinator of Education Workers, or CNTE, are opposed to the mandatory testing of teachers as part of Mexico's education reform and are also protesting the arrest of union leaders on money laundering and other charges. Sunday's clashes in several municipalities in Oaxaca state involved federal and state police. Associated Press journalists saw riot police firing on protesters in Nochixtlan, where officials said the protests were strongest. Isabel Garcia, a member of the CNTE's political commission, said three people supporting the protests were killed. She provided no further details.

And a state official, who was not authorized to speak to the press and requested anonymity, said a state police officer was killed. Mexico's federal government released a statement Sunday evening that made no reference to the number of people killed, but said that 21 federal agents had been wounded, three of them by gunfire. It said the federal police that participated in the operation were not carrying guns. "The attacks with guns came from people outside the blockades who fired on the population and federal police," it said. Footage filmed by The AP shows at least one police officer firing a gun several times, though it was unclear if he was a federal or state agent.

Riot police are forced to fall back as they battle with protesting teachers who were blocking a federal highway in the state of Oaxaca, near the town of Nochixtlan, Mexico, Sunday, June 19, 2016. The teachers are protesting against plans to overhaul the country's education system which include federally mandated teacher evaluations.

Clashes also lasted hours in the municipality of San Pablo Huitzo, north of the state capital. And clashes were continuing Sunday evening outside Oaxaca city itself, where protesters burned federal police installations. Over the past week, unionized teachers have blockaded streets, a shopping mall and even train tracks in the western state of Michoacan. They have also forced some bus lines to cancel trips to Oaxaca, which is a popular tourist destination, and blocked a highway on the isthmus of Tehuantepec. And in Oaxaca city, protesting teachers have set up an encampment in the city's main square.

Federal prosecutors accuse union leaders of setting up an illegal financial network to fund protests and line their own pockets. They allege the scheme operated in 2013-2015, when the union effectively controlled the payroll of Oaxaca's teachers. Following the arrest of some if its top leaders, the union called for a revolt against Mexico's government. Ten years ago, the teachers started a six-month takeover of Oaxaca that didn't end until police stormed the barricades.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-19-21-27-46
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waltky · Jun 21, 2016

Fingers pointin' both ways...

Officials, union trade blame for deadly Mexico clash
Jun 20,`16 -- Mexican authorities and protesters on Monday traded accusations of responsibility for weekend clashes that left eight people dead and more than 100 wounded in the restive southern state of Oaxaca.

Federal Police Chief Enrique Galindo, speaking on local Radio Formula, said few teachers were involved in the violence and attributed it to other, unspecified "radical groups." However, the radical teachers' union involved in the protests denied that and alleged that police infiltrators were to blame. The clashes are the latest flashpoint in an ongoing battle for control of public education in Oaxaca, where the union is resisting government attempts to implement national education reforms passed under President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Galindo said things initially went smoothly Sunday when officers moved to reopen the highway around 7 a.m. after it had been blocked by protesters. Traffic flow resumed for about two hours following dialogue between unarmed police and demonstrators from the National Coordinator of Education Workers, or CNTE. But later the crowd swelled to about 2,000 protesters, some of them armed with gasoline bombs and powerful fireworks, Galindo added. When police confirmed gunshots, he ordered armed police to move in. "It was a radical change of scene," Galindo said. "It was practically an ambush."

A girl embraces the coffin with the body of Yalid Jimenez, 29, who died yesterday during the clearing of the highway in Nochixtlan, Mexico, Monday, June 20, 2016. Violence erupted during the weekend in which six people died in confrontations between the police and striking teachers. The teachers are protesting against plans to overhaul the country's education system which include federally mandated teacher evaluations.

Late Monday, Oaxaca state prosecutor Joaquin Carrillo said in a news conference that seven civilians died of bullet wounds, none of them teachers. One more person died of wounds he suffered while handling one of the powerful fireworks that protesters used against police. More than 100 people were wounded before police pulled back, Galindo said, adding that "staying in Nochixtlan would have brought more serious consequences." At the news conference, Galindo showed photos of a police helicopter that had been hit by bullets. He said three federal police officers were still being held - apparently by townspeople or protesters - in Nochixtlan.

The CNTE, in turn, said those killed were teachers and members of other social groups that support them, adding that 20 people were missing. The union denied the presence of "radical groups" and said police had infiltrated their movement. It demanded that Oaxaca Gov. Gabino Cue resign. "This movement is not going to stop," said union member Juan Garcia. Several thousand teachers and activists marched in Oaxaca city, chanting "Murderers!" Galindo said he did not know if police had fired any of the fatal gunshots. Video filmed by The Associated Press showed at least one officer firing a gun several times, though it was unclear if he was a federal or state agent.

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waltky · Sep 16, 2016

Echoing the shout of independence of 1810 in Mexico...

Thousands protest against Pena Nieto
Sat, Sep 17, 2016 - GRITO: Police blocked the access to Mexico Citys Zocalo Square, where the president was due to replicate the shout of independence of 1810

Thousands of people protested in Mexico City on Thursday, demanding that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto resign over his handling of drug violence, corruption and his meeting with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Demonstrators held a sign reading Pena Nieto inept, resign for the good of Mexico and waved blackened national flags on the eve of the nations Independence Day. They marched across the capital toward Zocalo Square, where the president traditionally stands on a balcony of the National Palace the night before the holiday to replicate the grito, or shout of independence, made in 1810. Riot police stood near the Zocalo to block access to the protesters, who marched under the rallying cry resign now.

Parents of 43 students missing since Sept. 26, 2014, joined the protest, with people angry at the governments failure to solve the case, almost two years after they were abducted by police and allegedly killed by a drug cartel. We dont have a reason to shout: Viva Mexico. There are thousands of injustices, said Cristina Bautista, the mother of one of the missing trainee teachers. Ismael Padilla, a 49-year-old assistant principal at a secondary school, said he was unhappy at Pena Nietos decision to invite Trump last month.

The Republican White House hopeful has angered Mexicans for demanding that the nation pay for a border wall and describing migrants as rapists. We were apparently independent, Padilla said. After the visit of this person who has discriminated against our brothers... we are outraged and ashamed that he came here like a head of state, because that was the treatment he was given. We have very little to celebrate. We are tired that this government has always done things badly, Nubia Medina, 64, said. It has neglected social issues. They live like princes, while the people live on minimum wage. There are many who have disappeared or died. Protests unfolded elsewhere, with hundreds demonstrating peacefully in the western city of Guadalajara, but in the southern city of Oaxaca police used tear gas to repel teachers from a radical union opposed to Pena Nietos education reform. They responded by throwing rocks and launching fireworks at the officers. One person was injured.

Pena Nieto, who took office in December 2012, has seen his approval rating sink to 23 percent in a survey by the Reforma newspaper. Trumps visit on Aug. 31 rocked his administration, with Mexican finance minister Luis Videgaray resigning following reports that he spearheaded the unpopular meeting. However, Pena Nieto has been haunted by older scandals, notably the disappearance of the 43 students. Parents of the students voiced outrage on Thursday after Pena Nieto named Tomas Zeron to the National Security Council shortly after he resigned as head of the Criminal Investigation Agency. The parents have demanded Zerons resignation since independent experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said severe irregularities were committed in the investigation.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/09/17/2003655326
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Teachers, police clash in Mexico

waltky Well-Known Member

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