La Doctora returns to Oaxaca

November 25th, 2008: Doctor Bertha Muñoz, nicknamed La Doctora Escopeta during the 2006 popular uprising in Oaxaca, has returned to Oaxaca after two years in exile.

During the social movement of 2006 she created first aid stations where she cared for the injured; she accompanied the march to Mexico City; and from the microphones of Radio Universidad, she helped organize the peoples’ defense of the radio station, when Federal Preventive Police attempted to take the station on November 2nd.

Her only crime was speaking truth to power from the microphones of Radio Universidad. For that crime, she and her children had to leave Oaxaca after the brutal state repression of November 25th, 2006, and after receiving numerous threats against herself and her family.

Video by ManoVuelta

During her two years of exile, her life has not been easy. After 32 years of service in public health, she has been denied her retirement. The legal processes against her have been full of irregularities, and her most recent attempt to obtain an injunction has been unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, Doctor Bertha has decided to return to Oaxaca, publicly. For whatever might happen to her, or to her family, she places all responsibility on the un-governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, and on Felipe Calderon. We are calling for national and international solidarity if anything should happen to Doctor Bertha.