El Enemigo Común

by carolina

Abraham Ramírez Vásquez, Juventino García Cruz and Noel García Cruz, the first political prisoners of the Ulises Ruiz regime in Oaxaca, are from the Zapotec town of Santiago Xanica. The three members of the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) and the Popular Anti-neoliberal Oaxacan Magonista Coordinating Body (COMPA) were arrested on January 15, 2005, after hundreds of preventive and judicial police opened a crossfire on a group of 80 men, women, children and old people who were unloading bricks from a truck as part of a community work project. Abraham, Noel and Juventino were seriously wounded by gunshots. The people responded to the attack with sticks and stones, but more police came in, dragged the three wounded people out of the clinic, and took them to a house to be tortured by the police. After a few days, they were taken to the Ixcotel prison and then to the prison at Pochutla. Despite their serious wounds, they received no medical treatment until 36 hours after being admitted to the Pochutla hospital.

Continue Reading »

February 18, 2010 – From Casa Chapulin – Juan Manuel Martinez Moreno, husband and father of three children, was released from prison for wrongfully being accused for the killing of Indymedia journalist Bradley Ronald Will. Will was shot on October 27, 2006 by paramilitary troops under the orders of governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz while he was recording a mobilization in Santa Lucia del Camino, Oaxaca during the 2006 APPO movement.

Amidst the clouds and rainy day, the Martinez Moreno family was greeted by community members, teachers, friends, and media. Family and friends marched from the prison to the Zocalo. Juan Manuel was imprisoned for approximately 16 months without any solid evidence or witnesses proving him guilty.

Continue Reading »

To all media outlets
To the public body
To all community members

As many people already know, Emeterio Marino Cruz, one of the many social justice fighters that was repressed by the assassin governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) and Felipe Calderon, filed a criminal complaint against Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, Jorge Franco Vargas, Sergio Segreste Rios, Aristeo Lopez Martinez, Daniel Camarena Flores, Alejandro Barrita Ortiz, and Evencio Nicolas Martinez on charges of abuse of authority, attempted murder, physical torture, moral torture, psychological torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, destruction of public service, and injuries.

This complaint was filed at the Mexican Attorney General’s (PGR in Spanish acronym) office. But after time, the complaint was suspended. Months later we found out that the complaint was in the hands of Evencio Nicolas Martinez, agent and defendant of the state of Oaxaca. Again, another crime was committed, because he did not step up to be a judge in this case and because he delayed the process that should proceed according to law.

Continue Reading »

To all media outlets
To the public body
To all community members

On January 28, 2010 a local newspaper published an article written by Reynaldo Bracamontes titled “Political Alliances: The Only Exit in the Face of Oppression: Emeterio”. In the article Emeterio supposedly says that the Political Alliance is the citizen’s alternative in order to free ourselves from the oppression of the current PRI government.

We deny this supposed declaration. The press conference held on the 27th of January was held in order to show the total impunity of the government in Oaxaca.

Our position on the elections has been clear since the moment we joined the struggle. We are sure that change will not come from a political party and it is even less likely to come from this corrupt alliance, which allegedly contains leftist political parties. In reality the leftist parties are like all political parties, reformists and thieves. All of the political parties supported the repression in 2006-2007. Change is only possible with the reorganization from the people of Oaxaca.

Continue Reading »

Four Foreigners Detained without Justification in Oaxaca, Mexico on Thursday January 28th 2010

Oaxaca — January 30, 2010

Press Release

On Thursday January 28, at around 9 p.m. Andrea Caraballo, Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez, James Wells and Jennifer Lawhorne were eating ice cream in the zocalo of Oaxaca. At that time, one of us recognized the face of the governor of Oaxaca who was about nine feet away from us. As a friend of Brad Will, a U.S. journalist who was killed in Oaxaca in 2006, one of us took advantage of the governor’s presence to ask him about the case of Mr. Will, which to this day remains unresolved. We didn’t receive a response from the governor who continued walking and we continued strolling in the zocalo with our ice creams. Five minutes later, between six and eight police agents, some in official uniform and others dressed in plainclothes, surrounded us, demanding to see our identifications and made us walk with them to a municipal police truck. While the police forced us to get into the back of the truck, we asked them why they were taking us away and to where they were going to take us. The police refused to give us any information. We were actually very afraid and worried for our safety.

Continue Reading »