Thursday, March 08, 2007
Demonstrations
Happy International Day of the Woman. Oaxaca celebrated with a huge march. Skipped my intercambio this afternoon to check it out. I had been told there would be about 12,000 people there. I think that was actually a good guess.
You usually can't see the troubles - sounds like Ireland eh? - in Oaxaca any more, but they're far from resolved. And this march made that clear. Every street into the zocalo, the big square in the center of town, was blocked by metal gates with barbed wire. Behind those gates, at every entrance to the square, were columns and columns of riot police with shields, batons, dogs, horses, the works. The march actually went from outside town to a plaza by the Catedral de Soledad -- never coming more than three or four blocks from the zocalo. But the government seems serious about protecting the zocalo. (This is where the teachers, and later, the members of Appo, were camped out last year.) And I heard today that it was actually a group of women who took over the government tv station last year during the conflict. So there was some talk that if things hadn't changed in Oaxaca, the women might try to make a statement. Of course, things haven't changed in Oaxaca.
After checking out all the police, I walked over to try to find the march. Not hard. I caught it just as the first groups were turning the corner and entering the plaza. First a column of young men linked arms and blocked off the streets to traffic so the parade could pass. They looked serious and a little scary, but they smiled for pictures and soon were joking around with bystanders.
Huge banners, some with the face of one of the apo leaders who is still in jail, others of the governer of Oaxaca dressed as Stalin, or with a gag in his mouth. There were communist groups, apo groups, student groups, nurses, teachers, etc. It clearly wasn't just a women's march either. There were signs for women´s rights, but far more anti-Ruiz slogans.
The most interesting thing were the graffitti boys. As the parade passed, they casually whipped out their spray paint and covered the sides of buildings with slogans. Some of them had stencils. Others just sprayed freehand. But walls along the streets of the parade were covered with graffiti before the march was half over.
I watched thousands of people file into the square. The sun was high and hot today, so everyone crowded into the few shady places. There were speeches - most of which I couldn't understand. Vendors selling snow cones and empanadas and refrescas. Also tshirts, decals, political books.
There were no police - at least not in uniform - anywhere near the march.
I went back to the zocalo. Typical - the barriers were not exactly air tight. At one, people were begging to be let through so they could get to the bank, and the guy in charge there wouldn't let them in. One block over, I got waived right in. I am not exactly sure why it feels tense to walk by a squadron of cops in riot gear. They were perfectly polite, though they did stare a lot. And some of them had large tree branches instead of batons. Which is scarier than batons, if you ask me. The zocalo was unnaturally quiet, though there were a few people there. An old guy with a trumpet was singing political songs. I had a pineapple juice at a cafe where i could watch three different entry points. The women hawking wooden bookmarks and shawls, the kids with chiclets, the guys with the cotton pants worked the few occupied tables.
The old musician comes up for change. He and the pants guy and my waiter chat behind my table, saying things like: Slow day. Really slow. Not much business. No people around today.
As if they just can't figure it out. Meanwhile, a group of about 50 cops in riot gear run past on their way from one checkpoint to another. Hmm. Wonder why no one's out today....
The mostly empty zocalo with all the cops was almost more interesting to me than the march. They were so quiet, but radiating such tension. Or maybe it was just me, remembering the way cops talk about the adrenaline rush of a car chase, that energy that has to go somewhere. Or soldiers...all that boredom and waiting, and then finally, action.
A little dramatic, because i certainly saw no real action. After a couple hours, squeezed through the barriers and went back to school and made tamales, which I'll write about tomorrow. Gonna meet some friends in a little bit and walk back down there to see if anything is going on...
You usually can't see the troubles - sounds like Ireland eh? - in Oaxaca any more, but they're far from resolved. And this march made that clear. Every street into the zocalo, the big square in the center of town, was blocked by metal gates with barbed wire. Behind those gates, at every entrance to the square, were columns and columns of riot police with shields, batons, dogs, horses, the works. The march actually went from outside town to a plaza by the Catedral de Soledad -- never coming more than three or four blocks from the zocalo. But the government seems serious about protecting the zocalo. (This is where the teachers, and later, the members of Appo, were camped out last year.) And I heard today that it was actually a group of women who took over the government tv station last year during the conflict. So there was some talk that if things hadn't changed in Oaxaca, the women might try to make a statement. Of course, things haven't changed in Oaxaca.
After checking out all the police, I walked over to try to find the march. Not hard. I caught it just as the first groups were turning the corner and entering the plaza. First a column of young men linked arms and blocked off the streets to traffic so the parade could pass. They looked serious and a little scary, but they smiled for pictures and soon were joking around with bystanders.
Huge banners, some with the face of one of the apo leaders who is still in jail, others of the governer of Oaxaca dressed as Stalin, or with a gag in his mouth. There were communist groups, apo groups, student groups, nurses, teachers, etc. It clearly wasn't just a women's march either. There were signs for women´s rights, but far more anti-Ruiz slogans.
The most interesting thing were the graffitti boys. As the parade passed, they casually whipped out their spray paint and covered the sides of buildings with slogans. Some of them had stencils. Others just sprayed freehand. But walls along the streets of the parade were covered with graffiti before the march was half over.
I watched thousands of people file into the square. The sun was high and hot today, so everyone crowded into the few shady places. There were speeches - most of which I couldn't understand. Vendors selling snow cones and empanadas and refrescas. Also tshirts, decals, political books.
There were no police - at least not in uniform - anywhere near the march.
I went back to the zocalo. Typical - the barriers were not exactly air tight. At one, people were begging to be let through so they could get to the bank, and the guy in charge there wouldn't let them in. One block over, I got waived right in. I am not exactly sure why it feels tense to walk by a squadron of cops in riot gear. They were perfectly polite, though they did stare a lot. And some of them had large tree branches instead of batons. Which is scarier than batons, if you ask me. The zocalo was unnaturally quiet, though there were a few people there. An old guy with a trumpet was singing political songs. I had a pineapple juice at a cafe where i could watch three different entry points. The women hawking wooden bookmarks and shawls, the kids with chiclets, the guys with the cotton pants worked the few occupied tables.
The old musician comes up for change. He and the pants guy and my waiter chat behind my table, saying things like: Slow day. Really slow. Not much business. No people around today.
As if they just can't figure it out. Meanwhile, a group of about 50 cops in riot gear run past on their way from one checkpoint to another. Hmm. Wonder why no one's out today....
The mostly empty zocalo with all the cops was almost more interesting to me than the march. They were so quiet, but radiating such tension. Or maybe it was just me, remembering the way cops talk about the adrenaline rush of a car chase, that energy that has to go somewhere. Or soldiers...all that boredom and waiting, and then finally, action.
A little dramatic, because i certainly saw no real action. After a couple hours, squeezed through the barriers and went back to school and made tamales, which I'll write about tomorrow. Gonna meet some friends in a little bit and walk back down there to see if anything is going on...
# posted by Anne @ 4:30 PM 
