Propping up fallen trees isn’t the only activity on the Alameda… 
Today, Sección 22 del Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (the teachers’ union) is beginning an occupation of Oaxaca’s zócalo, Alameda, and several side streets.
According to a report in the Latin American Herald Tribune, Teachers Call for Strike in Southern Mexican State, the teachers are not demanding wage increases, instead focusing on social issues, including “better uniform allowances for students, computers in all of the state’s elementary schools and electricity in all schools.” Privatization is also an issue.
This annual activity by the teachers’ union is extremely contentious. Adding bold-face to the lines above will be my only comment on the subject.
However, the teachers aren’t the only people converging on the zócalo today…
The displaced Triqui, who were driven out of their village of San Juan Copala after several years of political violence, have decided to return home, leading a march/caravan from Oaxaca to Mexico City and finally back to San Juan Copala.
For more information, see the blog posting by Angry White Kid, The displaced decide to return to our community: Caravan of the Color of Blood and for background on their struggle for autonomy, see Repression, Impunity and Resistance in Oaxaca: One Year After the Copala Caravan Ambush.
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View From Casita Colibrí 