Vicente Fox disrupted in NYC by questions about Oaxaca and Brad Will

A book signing at Barnes and Noble turned tense when audience members asked about Brad Will…

October 10th, 2007 – Friend of Brad Will writes: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox faced a skeptical, if not hostile crowd on October 9th during what was supposed to be a tame and uneventful book signing event at Barnes and Noble in New York City’s Union Square park neighborhood. In town to shill for his new tome, “Revolution of Hope”, Fox has lept upon the Bush bashing parade full bore, joining the ranks of Alan Greenspan and others who were in positions of power to speak out loudly against world wrecking policies, but chose to wait until out of office and on the writing circuit to cash in on the now almost universal disdain for America’s leader. Such is the courage of this ill begotten ilk.

Vicente Fox sounded like a stilted Mitt Romney, and of the same tall height, or some such christo-fascist with his wanting to “thank god, publicly” numerous times. Fox further enlightened the unimpressed crowd of over 150 with snippets like, “Information is important,” and that the first Spaniards on these continents “came through Ellis Island” while calling the Barnes and Noble mega chain bookstore a “library”, more than once.

Fox did not actually read from his book, completed with the support of a ghost writer. Fox was spoon fed questions written by audience members and placed in a fishbowl, at the heavily policed event. Fox is regularly confronted with dozens of demonstrators, whether in the States, or in Mexico, and the same was expected in New York. Most recently, he faces corruption charges and allegations of illicit gain, bolstered by tabloid photo spreads of his grandiose and recently renovated mansions.

Two questions were read aloud by the droning public relations flak of Barbes and Noble and Fox stated that his heroes included Ghandi. An audience member then inquired loudly to Fox whether he though that Ghandi would have sent in thousands of soldiers to squash dissent and allow the murder and disappearances of the Oaxacan people while he was President. The audience member, part of an organized group affiliated with Friends of Brad Will, a nation-wide brand of activists, also asked him to comment on the murder of Brad Will, and how it could be that the federal authorities under his purview at the time could not identify or arrest anyone in connection to that crime.

Security closed in from all directions, ala the Kerry scene in Florida, while the questioner remained seated. Fox, to his credit, or that of pr handlers who have prepped all world “leaders” for similar circumstances in light of Kerry’s embarrassing and cowardly inaction while a questioner was tased, said aloud that this is still a free country and that people have a right to speak and the audience erupted in applause and the goons backed off.

The Barnes and Noble people wanted to continue with the softball fishbowl screened questions when another audience member said he too was a friend of Brad Will, who was loving and compassionate as the peaceful people Fox had just indicated, and please answer the questions. The PR flak zipped through two more silly inquiries which Fox just answered with one line each and then she called the event over. Fox insisted on answering the points made from the audience, to get himself off the hook in front of the Spanish speaking media in attendance and stated that what happened in Oaxaca was a local matter, and as President he couldn’t do anything about it. This despite first stating that he gave the teacher’s union all that they demanded until the ouster of corrupt Governor’s Ruiz became a demand.

His lies continued on for a bit, and when he finished another audience member asked why then did he send federal troops to tear gas and shoot and arrest hundreds of people, and why did he not launch a federal investigation and handling of the inquiry into the murder of Brad Will. Security swarmed the audience members who were in three different sections of the seating area while all the cameras and photographers turned to the activists and audience members piqued by so paltry and pathetic a performance by Fox. Most of the questioners left, while one was grabbed and carried down the stairs and pushed through the front door, breaking a window. Meanwhile, the first on many media interviews highlighting the situation in Oaxaca and Brad Will occurred just feet from where Fox was still trying to sign some of his pawning books, before security and police could muster another push out the door. Hundreds of fliers were distributed in the event and in the store and outside featuring friendsofbradwill.org and bradwill.org.

This month will mark an entire year since Brad was killed and the Oaxacan uprising was violently, if temporarily suppressed.

Check the websites and do what you can, from NYC, to DC, to Cincinnati to Oaxaca and beyond.

source: http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2007/10/91737.shtml