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.