Three days ago, six people were killed and dozens wounded outside Oaxaca when the Mexican police opened fire on unarmed protestors defending state education:
http://www.marxist.com/mexico-brutal-repression-of-teachers…
This is another chapter in the story of the Mexican state’s assault on workers through violent repression of unionists and a brutal swathe of privatizations, aimed largely at opening the country’s oil reserves to foreign trade and investment.
All sympathy and solidarity with the victims: rest in power. The Mexican government and the capitalists they represent will live to rue the forces these calamities will awaken.
We have sent the following message, based on a draft from the Kings College Marxist Society, to key figures in the Nieto administration on behalf of the Marxist Student Federation. Please share this message widely:
“The Marxist Student Federation unequivocally condemns the repression, arrest and murder of CNTE comrades for their principled defence of education in Mexico. The tragic events of 19 June, in which six protestors were killed and many others wounded outside Oaxaca, are the direct fault of the Peña Nieto administration. We send our solidarity to the victims.
Throughout the on-going dispute over reactionary education ‘reforms’, the appalling actions of the Mexican government reveal its commitment to destroying collective bargaining in the country. We note that CNTE has been one of the staunchest opponents of the Nieto regime, a champion of indigenous communities and a vital progressive force at a time when the state seems hell-bent on smashing workers’ rights. Mass sackings, arrests (targeting the leadership of CNTE) and violent repression have all been tactics deployed by Nieto’s regime in its assault on union activists in the education sector and beyond.
Reports on the ground from Oaxaca suggest that the police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to disperse unarmed protestors barricading the Puebla-Oaxaca highway. More shocking still are reports that officers deliberately prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded and ensured that any protestors who made it to local hospitals were denied treatment.
So far the following deaths have been confirmed:
Andrés Aguilar Sanabria, indigenous teacher.
Antonio Pérez García, student.
Jesús Cadena Sánchez Meza, student.
Yalid Jiménez Santiago, protestor.
Oscar Nicolás Santiago, protestor.
Anselmo Cruz Aquino, protestor.
Marxist Students in Britain mourn the fallen and express our fury at the Mexican authorities, with whom the responsibility for this travesty lies. Furthermore, we stand in solidarity with the struggle of Mexican teachers, demand an end to their repression by the state and call for the immediate release of incarcerated union leaders.
For an end to capitalism and the violence it demands! For free education under workers’ control!
Marxist Student Federation, Britain”
If any other groups or organisations are in a position to send protests letters to the Mexican authorities please get in touch with contact@marxiststudent.com to coordinate our protest. Please also attend this demonstration at 4pm today: https://www.facebook.com/events/139825989771695/
