APPO Declaration: August 9th, 2007

POLITICAL DECLARATION OF THE POPULAR ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLES OF OAXACA. AUGUST 9th, 2007

TO THE MEDIA
TO THE PEOPLE OF OAXACA
AND TO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

The past electoral process for the renovation of the local congress is a political thermometer to value the distrust of the people and of the citizenship of the system of parties and the institutions. In front of the APPO call to the vote of punishment in opposition to the PRI, PAN, PVEM, PANAL AND ALLIES, today it has been proof that the people of Oaxaca have waken up, and that these people could locate with accuracy to the different electoral actors for their lack of elementary commitments like justice, among many others. The intelligent people also recognized those who act against them, when the solidarity to demand the exit of the assassin Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) was more needed. It was not, nor is the aim of the APPO, to give the vote to any political party at all; and the abstentionism is a proof of the lack of credibility of those who contended in the elections, and represents the face of the antidemocracy of the political parties, which are far away from the people’s inspirations, repeating the political control by party bosses and the estates of power.

Also the abstentionism had effect, across a policy of fear implemented by URO, who resorts to the usages of transportations, “prebendas” and plotting from the electoral instance the fraud and his supposed victory.

The APPO as such, did not take part in the electoral process for the renovation of the local congress, since on the basis of its agreements it had defined that every organization or sector will do to its own name, respecting the ideological diversity and the plurality that shapes the APPO. The APPO keeps in force and considers that the exercise of the direct democracy from the assembly spaces, the initiative’s generations of the organizations in each colony, neighborhood, community, the constitution of the autonomous governments and the change in the political practice, the fight for the constitution of a popular and democratic government, a state constituent democratic and popular assembly that should elaborate a new constitution, is the only way that will lead us to a real and deep change of our state; changes do not come from above but from below, from the dispossessed and the poor of Oaxaca.

Therefore, the thousands of compañeros/as who did not go to vote due to the distrust in the parties demonstrates its dissent, and it is not enough not to vote, but the generation of the people’s organization and its articulation from below.

The compañeros/as who voted also have to consider this criterion since the evident fraud of the state party PRI and of the criminal government of URO, is one more sample of intransigence and authoritarianism that continues developing from the State Electoral Institute, and that only less than 20 % are those who supposedly will represent us in the congress. This reflects the illegitimacy and the emptiness of representation of the people in the next local congress for what it is necessary to characterize it as spuriously.

THEREFORE, the APPO continues being in force in the fight for the social, political and economical transformation in Oaxaca, from a political Program that reflects mostly the demands of the people and that will continue enriching in next regional and state events. With this, we do a call to Oaxaca’s different democratic sectors, in order to construct a whole process of deep discussion to shape definitively the project of popular government for which we will continue fighting up to its concretion. The fill and the political control by party bosses cannot continue governing, for what it is necessary to continue fighting constructing the popular power, which includes the exit of URO and the social change in Oaxaca.

So the people of Oaxaca, together with the popular assembly we are going to continue fighting for the specific aims: the fall of the tyrant, the freedom of the political prisoners, the punishment to the persons responsible of the repression, the stop to repression. We announce some activities to develop in the next days and a political position in front of the electoral context.

* AUGUST 10th: Procession for Justice, in honoring to the compañero Jose Jiménez Colmenares. That departs from the monument to the mother, towards the cathedral where a mass will take place at 16:00 hrs. We call so that on Friday morning everyone comes to the cathedral side to join to the elaboration of a rug, bringing flowers, especially chrysanthemums and offerings.

* AUGUST 12th: the APPO begins coordination with the relatives of EMETERIO MARINO who will initiate an economic campaign, the family opens an account for the economic solidarity: 56 54630442 4 Satander serfin, branch 5325

* AUGUST 22nd: Honoring to the compañero Lorenzo Sampablo, to take part in an activity that will be designed in the next days.

* SEPTEMBER 1st: Call to the construction of the counterreport of the people in relation to the report of FECAL.

* SEPTEMBER 8th and 9th: State Assembly of the APPO, we summon the communities and delegates in order to assist and to be able to define struggle actions in the continuity of the civil pacific resistance.

* OCTOBER 8th: Continuation of the People’s National Tribunal in ATENCO, so we make a call to all the aggrieved and the national referentials to take part and denounce the human rights violations committed by the Mexican state. Especially the case of Oaxaca must be placed in front of the international instances and authorities.

IN FRATERNITY:
ALL THE POWER TO THE VILLAGE
POPULAR ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLES OF OAXACA.

translation by Dan Leahy