AP is bad on many issues but is particularly bad about Latin American leftists.
Nobody on the right was kidnapped, raped, tortured or murdered, or injured in any way, in six months of major protest, which was entirely peaceful and legal, based on the "customs and uses" provision of the Constitution. The rightwing governor of Oaxaca, Ruiz, whom local people believe stole the 2004 election, brutally attacked striking teachers in June 2006. The community rose up and demanded his resignation. When he refused, they PEACEFULLY took over the state capitol and set up their own government, based on ancient indigenous rules. The "customs and uses" provision of the Constitution was designed for this purpose, to empower the Mexican people in the face of illegitimate and oppressive government. In the subsequent months, rightwing paramilitaries, under the control of Gov. Ruiz, began kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering dozens of teachers, union leaders, community elders and other protesters. This utter lawlessness of the rightwing government was what led to Brad Will's death. He was shot dead on the street FILMING THE GOVERNOR'S THUGS, who were gunning for protesters, and caught his killers on video as he died. They were identified as local police and other members of the rightwing paramilitary. THEN Mexican President Fox and incoming Felipe Calderon (another stolen election) ordered federal troops into Oaxaca--in part using Brad Will's death as an EXCUSE to cs gas the town of Oaxaca, put it under siege, and commit more beatings, tortures, unjust jailings and murders. And this was the ONLY moment when there was ANY violence by the protesters, and it was merely throwing rocks and molotov cocktails at the Darth Vader troops who were invading the town and local neighborhoods, and who were trying to invade the University campus, where the police are forbidden to go, under Mexican law. (The president of the University then asked the troops to leave.)
The rightwing federal government turned six months of peaceful protest, which had been assaulted by rightwing thugs and murderers, into a couple of days of reaction to federal invasion FOR THE CORPORATE NEWS CAMERAS, so that scumbag AP reporters could call it "violent protests."
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Brad Will was a very brave and passionate believer in democracy who went to Oaxaca to document the protest movement that our war profiteering corporate news monopolies were ignoring. He died for democracy. His family is now visiting Mexico to demand a proper investigation of his death, and of the many other deaths in Oaxaca, and of the state/local paramilitaries who were involved. Here is THEIR article at Narco News:
http://narconews.com/Issue45/article2594.htmlThey have their own web site as well: BradWill.org.
Others are continuing his work. Check out this video. (Do these look like violent protesters to you?)
Video from Oaxaca (video of the occupation of Oaxaca and the on-going protests against it), by Mal de Ojo TV)
http://video.indymedia.org/download/%5BIndymedia%5D_(2007-03-14)_The_Blue_Nightmare.mp4
For the latest news from Oaxaca and other Latin American protests and events, Narconews.com is a great source.
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"Oaxaca has...destroyed the myth that no alternative exists."
http://www.socialistperspectives.com/why%20oaxaca%20matters.htm"Why Oaxaca Matters
History Has Numerous Examples of Similar Political Formations, Always Birthed Amid a Revolutionary Climate
By James Cooke
(snip)
"Like its organizational ancestors, Oaxaca’s Popular Assembly worked to overcome the above barriers and shorten the distance between voters and delegate. Unlike the modern, accepted form of democracy, where representatives are free to back-track on their promises the minute after being elected, the Popular Assembly model relies on direct democracy, i.e., delegates must do as expected, or else they are immediately removed. This is possible because voting is done not by region, where people from vast un-connected distances come together once every couple years, but instead, democratic discussion happens in local workplaces, organizations, or neighborhoods, followed by a binding vote. In this way, people are able to respond to events quickly and decide the best way to react; rather than sitting on their hands until the next election hoping that their new ‘representative’ will listen to them instead of the oligarchy.
"Such a system is practical on a national and even international level because the majority of people in the world have similar interests. Most of the earth’s population consists of working people who desire the same things: peace, good wages and working conditions, education, health care, a decent standard of living, etc. Those opposing the more-democratic ‘popular assembly’ model of organization are the tiny minority who benefit from the current, vastly unequal system. Indeed, it is the predatory upper classes that ruthlessly squash all independent modes of organization, as they continue to do now in Oaxaca.
"There are numerous elements of the Oaxacan movement that have international significance— people in nearly every country can relate to oppressive governments, institutionalized poverty, and barbaric dictators; Oaxaca has merely destroyed the myth that no alternative exists.
"A revolution is democratic or it is nothing. The ‘popular assembly’ method of government lays the very foundation for a wider revolutionary process, where masses of people are drawn into social life and given the opportunity to actively participate. It is this element that the upper-classes fear most, and why they strive to destroy it whenever it rears its head.
"In consequence, the elite-controlled international media has deemed the events in Oaxaca un-newsworthy. The task, therefore, of spreading the word about the still-evolving events in Oaxaca— as well as similar manifestations in Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia— falls onto those genuinely interested in democracy and equality."
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