[News] The War of the Flea...Oaxaca

[Anti-Imperialist News]

|The War of the Flea...Oaxaca |

Autor(a): Michael McCaughan Fecha: 1:15am Viernes 
03 Noviembre 2006 Categoría: Notícias Generales / General News

900 words on the day in which the federales were 
prevented from entering the University and ultimately retreated .....

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Life during wartime.. Oaxaca City under siege.

by Michael McCaughan


“be careful my friend, people die all the time.’ 
came the warning from a passerby outside Oaxaca 
university this afternoon. In his shorts and 
t-shirt he strolled off in the opposite 
direction, looking like he was going to the beach.

In the meantime hundreds of people swarmed 
through side streets close to the University to 
challenge the Federal police as they fought 
street by street to disperse supporters of the popular movement, APPO.

This was the war of the flea as protestors 
outnumbered police by ten to one but were in turn 
outgunned by the well-armed and trigger happy 
troops. Several serious injuries have been 
reported but so far today, no fatalities.

The battle was uneven to the point of suicidal. And yet the people won.

Radio Universidad, the voice of the People’s 
Popular Assembly (APPO) sounded the warning early 
this morning; the federal police were arriving in 
force to clear barricades outside the university 
and possibly gain entrance. At stake was the 
radio station which has coordinated resistance 
activities around the city and operated as an 
open Mike for anyone wishing to give testimony of 
the speedily unraveling events.

For six hours several thousand youths, an even 
mix between the sexes, fought a brave battle that 
recalled similar confrontations all over Latin 
America. Oaxaca is Cochabamba, Atenco and all the 
corners of the continent where citizen movements 
challenge military/business hegemony.

The federales wore protective masks and carried 
guns, sticks and shields. The equipment was 
purchased in 1994 after the Zapatista rebellion 
ignited unrest around the country. Above the 
soldiers two helicopters hovered over rebel 
barricades and lobbed tear gas grenades at the people below.

At one point a helicopter pilot recognized APPO 
spokesman Flavio Sosa, dropped swiftly to within 
20 metres of him and tossed pepper spray 
canisters at his feet. ‘This is a sign of their 
desperation’ he said, ‘we will not be beaten.’

The people were armed as follows; tyres, stones, 
sticks, metal bars, ‘lanzacohetes’ (firework 
launchers) shopping trolleys, pallets and debris 
of all kind. More significantly perhaps, they 
were armed with their truth; the illegal 
militarized police occupation of Oaxaca must end 
before meaningful dialogue can begin.

For now the task was to prevent the troops from 
clearing roads leading to the University, the 
last fixed bastion of the popular uprising.

A young law student guided me through the streets 
but before long we were trapped by lines of 
troops who launched stinging pepper spray 
grenades and, according to more experienced 
observers, an occasional bullet. One youth lost 
an eye while a journalist with ‘El Universal’ was 
hospitalized after a gas canister hit him in the 
chest. As we reeled from the pepper spray, doors 
opened as if by magic, all along the street.

Buckets of water appeared and women invited us to 
take refuge inside their homes. ‘dogs’ said Ana 
Rosa Poblano, ‘they treat us worse than dogs.’ 
She gave me a taco of mole sauce, handed me a rag 
soaked in vinegar, took a quick look up and down 
the street and wished me luck.

As soon as the troops moved to clear another 
corner, dozens of youths appeared out of nowhere 
and placed fresh barricades behind them. ‘Prepare 
to die’ shouted one woman, who barely reached my 
shoulder in height but stood far taller in terms 
of bravery. ‘Put down your shields and take off 
your helmets and I’ll beat the living shit out of you’ she added.

The express barricade was erected with precision; 
first came the metal girders, stripped from 
nearby street lamps. They were covered by pallets 
and then tyres, and when the police appeared, the 
rebels set the roadblock on fire, sending a 
noxious cloud of black smoke into the sky. A 
couple of streets away, on the other side of the 
police, a similar process occurred.

The battle continued for hours, as police 
advanced two blocks, then retreated one, all the 
time harassed by stone throwers in nearby rooftops.

After several hours of cat and mouse antics we 
found our way into the University and took refuge 
outside the radio station, which broadcasts a 
constant stream of commentary and warnings of 
fresh police maneuvers. The area outside the 
station is sandbagged while a wall of red bricks 
offers a second obstacle to potential intruders. 
One group of students lie in the shade of a tree, 
catching up on sleep after a 16-hour security 
shift. Helicopters are observing from overhead 
while students boil vats of oil as a desperate 
countermeasure to thwart an anticipated invasion of this autonomous space.

The conservative University rector has sought 
assurances that the campus will not be occupied 
but government anger grows as each day passes and 
the popular movement gathers renewed strength.

At a late night meeting in the Archbishop’s 
residence, (wednesday) state officials invited 
APPO leaders to begin dialogue. The events of 
today however, speak a language of a different 
kind. The call has gone out for a mega march this 
Sunday to surround the federales in the Zocalo 
and perhaps, who knows, to retake the square.

By 3pm today the crossroads outside the 
University looked like Managua, Nicaragua on July 
19th 1979. Thousands of citizens streamed toward 
the victory point, waving flags, singing rebel songs.

The final tally was a dozen people injured and a 
fresh injection of hope that peaceful but 
determined resistance can outwit and outwait the 
occupying forces of the state.

Ends.


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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