North County residents protest at Mexican Consulate over poverty, repression in Oaxaca
By: JOE BECK - Staff Writer | ∞
Wendy Flores, right, of San Diego, helps hold up a sign that says Mexican President Vicente Fox and Oaxacan Governor Ulises Ruiz are murderers Tuesday in front of the Mexican Consolate in San Diego.
BILL WECHTER Staff Photorapher
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SAN DIEGO -- Deadly violence in Mexico's Oaxaca Province drew 45 protesters to the sidewalk in front of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego on Tuesday night.
The protesters, many of them North County residents, demanded the resignation or removal of Gov. Ulises Ruiz, who they blame for poverty and political repression in Oaxaca.
They also called for an end to the use of force by 4,000 federal police who were ordered into the city of Oaxaca on Sunday by Mexican President Vicente Fox. The Mexican government officials have said the police were ordered in to restore order in the city.
The protesters in front of the consulate included residents of North County, which has a population of immigrants from Oaxaca that has been estimated to be at least 25,000.
The protesters plan to remain outside the consulate, appearing in shifts, 24 hours a day through Sunday, said Alexandra Richardez of Encinitas. As she spoke, she stood amid objects that served as visible reminders of the vigil she described ---- burning candles on the sidewalk, a pitched tent, and a dozen or so water bottles.
Another protester, Jose Gonzalez of Oceanside, said that he helped organize the event to put an end to the violence and neglect of the impoverished people of Oaxaca.
"The government is not willing to work with the people, the government is not willing to respect human rights," Gonzalez said.
Richardez drew a connection between illegal immigration to the United States and the unrest in Oaxaca. She said deteriorating conditions in Oaxaca could lead more people to consider seeking a better life in the United States.
She said she was attending the protest first and foremost out of concern about the families of Oaxacan immigrants in the United States who remain in Mexico. But she also cited the "lack of services, inattention of the federal government to these issues that they should have foreseen."
She cited education and health care as particular concerns.
Gonzalez and several other protesters met for roughly 45 minutes inside the Mexican Consulate with Consul General Luis Cabrera.
In an interview with the North County Times after the meeting, Cabrera said he told the protesters not to disrupt the consulate's normal activities.
"We respect the rights of people to demonstrate, provided they don't affect the rights of third parties and let the consulate function normally," Cabrera said.
He also said during the meeting that he agreed to transmit the protesters' demands to the Mexican government.
Out on the sidewalk, Erasto Anacena of Vista said he was preparing to travel to Oaxaca to lend support to members of his family still living there.
Speaking through a translator, Anacena said the unrest was going to increase the flow of people traveling back and forth between Mexico and the United States.
"Borders won't stop anyone," he said. "People from there will always come here, people from here will always go there."
-- Contact staff writer Joe Beck at (760) 740-3516 or jbeck@nctimes.com.
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AResident wrote on Nov 1, 2006 12:29 PM:I'm glad your protesting. Can you organize the 25,000 and take the protest across the border? How many supporters can you put together there? If you protest in your country, you will be heard a lot louder. Now you can see that FOX and company have a big stake in protesting the fence. They have no intension's of helping the people in their country. They welcome them to leave. One once said, if you teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime. To make it simple, if Mexico was to educate their people and make a better life for them. The elections would not go as they have for decades. People would stand up for what they beleive in. But the way Mexico has kept their people impoverished is the main reason for them fleeing to the US.
Why don't you ALL go back wrote on Nov 1, 2006 1:23 PM:and protest in Mexico? Fight a revolution for the kind of government you want? And don't threaten us with our borders won't keep you out. You may just be surprised how fed up AMERICANS are with all these blood sucking ILLEGAL aliens.
Oh no wrote on Nov 1, 2006 3:18 PM:you protesters have it all wrong, it is better if you go into Mexico and show them that you mean business!
Good idea wrote on Nov 1, 2006 3:20 PM:go to Mexico and give your family support, and take all the rest of the illegals with you!
Concerned wrote on Nov 1, 2006 3:52 PM:I can't imagine how these protestors think this is going to make a difference in Mexico. How dumb are you people? Your government isn't listening to your arguments. The American people have had it with you. What you are doing is not constructive. If you want to protest, do it in Mexico. Make a real difference. Of course, the Mexicans have a little different way of dealing with protestors than we do. But if you believe in your country, Mexico, go there and make a difference. Really!!!!
Harry wrote on Nov 1, 2006 5:03 PM:Solidarity with the people of Oaxoca! The USA should not have been so quick to recognize the new government of Mexico after the contested election. If we had put pressure on, as we did in the Ukraine, they could have been forced to hold another election. The party of Fox doesn't address the gross inequities that lead to instability and contribute to the economic refugees crossing the border. We censor Castro but welcome Fox to the ranch--it doesn't make sense to me.
Harry wrote on Nov 1, 2006 5:06 PM:The truth about the racist engine that drives the anti-Mexican movement is obvious in the posts. Rather than support these people who are addressing the issues that feed imigration, most who have commented have demeaned and ridiculed. I am disgusted with you! Con los pobres de la tierra Quiero yo mi suerte echar Con los pobres de la tierra Quiero yo mi suerte echar El arroyo de la sierra Me complace mas que el mar (With the poor people of this earth, I want to share my lot. The little streams of the mountains Please me more than the sea.) J. Marti
David wrote on Nov 1, 2006 9:43 PM:Harry, if you want to share your lot with these people then by all means go there and share it. No one is stopping you. Mexico is our enemy. The sooner we accept that and take immediate and decisive action the better off we will be. Solidarity starts in Mexico Harry. But it is safe to say that the Mexican people will never take the steps to initiate solidarity in their own country. The combination of a lack of a real government and the fact that the Mexican people are just too weak and under educated to do anything about it have done more to hurt our country than all the terrorists and rogue countries combined. So we will continue to be nothing but the recipients of Mexico's refugees and criminals until we stand up and treat them like the terrorist government that they are.
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