ASSESSING OAXACA,S POLITICAL CRISIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 004619 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ELAB PINR PGOV MX SUBJECT: ASSESSING OAXACA,S POLITICAL CRISIS REF: A. MEXICO 3962 ¶B. MEXICO 4534 ¶C. MEXICO 4535 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In the past week, the complex political crisis in Oaxaca has worsened, with four people killed in two separate incidents and protestors pledging to intensify their civil disobedience campaign demanding that PRI Governor Ulises Ruiz resign or be removed from office. Tension is most severe in Oaxaca City, the center of the protest movement, with other parts of the state less affected. As the governor becomes increasingly isolated, his ability to govern Oaxaca fades. Prospects for a negotiated solution in the near-term have dimmed with local teachers' union leaders refusing to meet with federal Secretary of Government officials and saying they will only accept mediation from the Secretary of Government himself. The ongoing crisis has led SIPDIS to a significant decline in tourist revenues and the cancellation of the start of primary school this month. The Oaxaca demonstrations appear unrelated to ongoing PRD protests in Mexico City. End summary. Background to current crisis -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ulises Ruiz won the 2004 gubernatorial race by a very narrow margin, beating a popular (including among Oaxaca's sophisticated middle class) PRD-coalition candidate, Gabino Cue. Many political observers consider that election to have been fraudulent. Ruiz, a close friend of presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo, followed a terribly unpopular PRI governor, Jose Murat, into power. Many local residents believe that rather than spend money on needed economic programs, Ruiz directed public funds to the Madrazo campaign. He operated in a manner that alienated much of the already frustrated population, and as a result now finds himself in a stalemate with an increasingly radicalized protest movement. ¶3. (SBU) Rosanna Fuentes, editor of the Spanish edition of Foreign Affairs magazine, told poloff that Ruiz failed to incorporate into his program of government the grievances of his opponent's constituents and was not politically skilled to build the coalitions he needed to effectively govern. The governor's miscalculation in using force against the protestors on June 14 caused an acute backlash, with up to 3,000 members of civil society and radical organizations joining the teachers' protest under the umbrella of the 
People's Popular Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) (reftel). What was a routine teacher strike morphed into a broader, politicized movement demanding the governor's ouster. A Zapotec student told poloff that on June 14, "we learned we could confront the government and hold our ground." Protest's objectives -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The latest round of protests began in May as part of a now-annual ritual in which state teachers demand improved salaries and benefits, with protesters later adding the demand that Governor Ruiz be removed from power. However, the dissident teachers' union led by Enrique Rueda Pacheco and organizations represented by the APPO are distinct. Pro-democracy forces have been working for decades to wrest control away from the PRI, and the Oaxaca protest is the latest manifestation of this effort. Teachers, farmer organizations, intellectuals, student groups, leftists, and radicals have all come together under the banner of calling for the governor's removal. Beyond this common cause, these organizations have disparate interests, ideologies and tactics. Oaxaca's unfolding political crisis -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On August 17, doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals in Oaxaca began a general strike of indefinite duration. On August 13, an estimated 5,000 people conducted a silent march through Oaxaca City, demanding justice in the case of the unexplained murder of Jose Jimenez, husband of a striking teacher, and reiterating their demand that Governor Ruiz resign. On August 10, Jimenez was killed by gunmen occupying a nearby building that was subsequently set on fire by protestors. An APPO spokesperson blamed the governor for directing the shooting, a charge which the governor's office MEXICO 00004619 002 OF 004 has denied. Protestors held four people hostage following the incident, accusing them of participating in the shooting. On August 9, unknown gunmen killed three Triqui Indians, including a 12-year old boy, believed to have been headed to the Oaxaca City protests. The motivation of the killings is not known, although many observers believe they were associated with the unrest. Also on August 9, gunmen attacked a local newspaper, Noticias, which has been critical of the governor. Observers speculate this was done by mercenaries loyal to Ruiz. On August 3, a driver was beaten when he resisted the hijacking of his official vehicle, part of a wider campaign to hijack public vehicles and threaten to burn them in order to increase pressure on the governor. ¶6. (SBU) Last week's killings were the first in the three month-old protest and appear to mark a serious escalation. Until now, the demonstrations have been largely peaceful. The protesters have sporadically shut down city streets as well as the highways to Mexico City and the airport, blocked federal and state government buildings, taken over the local television station, and turned the normally picturesque zocalo (central square) into a mass encampment. However, a walk through the zocalo, where most restaurants have clients and shops and street vendors have buyers, suggests that press reports of vandalism and economic damage have been exaggerated. ¶7. (SBU) The intensity of the protest ebbs and flows. In the capital city, police are scarce -- perhaps intentionally, to avoid possible confrontations with protesters -- and city services have diminished. Tourists appear safe, but the city center is uncomfortable to travel in. There were only a few thousand protestors in Oaxaca City when poloff visited the week of August 7, with most of the striking teachers having left on vacation; although union leaders have asked them to return, their numbers reportedly are much reduced from earlier in the strike. While the protests have been focused in Oaxaca City, union leaders have called for their extension throughout the state. Every area of Oaxaca has been affected, since the union's 70,000 teachers come from all communities. ¶8. (SBU) A Mexican professor told poloff she believes 20-30 percent of the teachers are "true believers" in the protests. However, many others lack enthusiasm for continuing the strike, but have little choice other than do what they are told by union leaders. The result: education at the elementary and middle school levels has ground to a halt. Students lost a month of school in May; with the ongoing protests, they are missing the start of school in mid-August with no assurance of when classes will resume. A Oaxaca-based sociologist told poloff that while most Oaxacans support the teachers' cause, some feel the teachers have lost their way and question the union's methods, considered a relic of the PRI era. Extremist elements on both sides -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Militant elements on both sides of the conflict may be willing to resort to violence, although they enjoy almost no public support. Within the protest movement, a handful of young anarchists (mostly students) have commandeered buses, blocked roads, and are possibly responsible for burning vehicles. There are also some militant peasant organizations whose members have come to Oaxaca City carrying wooden clubs and metal pipes for defensive purposes. On the "pro-governor" side, local media organizations charge they have been intimidated by mercenaries and other militants, who some contacts speculate were also responsible for the August 10 killing of Jose Jimenez. Poloff also heard rumors that former governor Jose Murat is involved in supporting various militant groups. As a local journalist told poloff, "it's easy to create chaos in this situation. If someone wants to act violently, there's no one to stop them." An isolated governor -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Amidst the ongoing protest, contacts told poloff that the governor has lost legitimacy and faces an increasingly desperate situation. The academic dean of Oaxaca's Benito Juarez Autonomous University said that Ruiz is isolated and looking for a way out. He doesn't want to resign, but his ability to govern is greatly diminished and MEXICO 00004619 003 OF 004 it appears increasingly unlikely that he will regain his lost authority. Because protestors have blocked the governor's office, Ruiz and his staff are now working out of a hotel. Some observers were surprised that he hasn't resigned yet and suggest he could order forceful action against the protestors in the coming days with the goal of provoking federal intervention. A Oaxaca-based journalist speculated that, in the current highly-charged environment, Ruiz's physical security could even be under threat. ¶11. (SBU) The following scenarios are possible if the governor steps down or is removed from office. If Ruiz resigns before December (before his two year mark in office), then the PRI-controlled state congress would appoint an interim governor and call for a new election; given the current political climate, a PRD-candidate would probably win. If Ruiz resigns after December, the state congress would vote for a new governor -- likely a PRIista -- to complete his term (Note: the PRI holds 23 out of 42 seats in the state congress. End note). Alternatively, the federal congress could vote to remove Ruiz from office and then choose his successor. Under this scenario, observers suggest that the PRI and PAN might work out a deal for the successor to be a PRI governor in exchange for PRI cooperation in the national congress. Another option would involve Ruiz asking for a leave from office, in which case an interim governor would be named, elections would not be held, and the congress would choose a successor in December to complete Ruiz's term if he did not return from leave. Dim prospects for a negotiated solution -------------- ¶12. (SBU) There are few signs of progress at the state level toward a negotiated solution to Oaxaca's political crisis. Each side has hardened its respective position, complicating the chance for a settlement. Previous mediation efforts have failed. The leaders of the protest movement say they will accept nothing less than the governor's resignation or removal from power; meanwhile, the governor has offered no indication he would step down. The key actor may be the federal government, which until now has wisely refused to intervene militarily and has called instead for a political settlement, even if it has been slow to respond on a political level. Local teachers' union leaders have rejected a meeting with a visiting delegation of federal Secretary of Government (SEGOB) officials, saying the offer comes too late and that they will only accept mediation from the Secretary of Government himself, the Office of the President, or the National Senate. Mediation by the federal government would bring the best hope for a negotiated solution. Little connection to Mexico City sit-in -------------- ¶13. (SBU) The Oaxaca situation has its own dynamic, objectives, and leadership distinct from the PRD protests in Mexico City, although the local PRD is lending moral and, allegedly, financial support. The teachers union and APPO are "extra-party" organizations whose main grievance has been with Governor Ruiz and the PRI, not the PAN, which has a limited presence in Oaxaca. They successfully mobilized during the recent elections to oust the PRI from much of the state's government. However, most Oaxacan protestors are part of social movements generally suspicious of electoral politics. A professor at UNAM said that while he doesn't see a connection between the Oaxaca and Mexico City protests, "both situations reveal the failings of the present governments (state and federal) to satisfy the basic demands of the poor." Economy suffers -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The Mexican Employers Federation estimates that tourism to Oaxaca is down 75 percent as a result of the ongoing protest, with revenue loss estimates varying from $45-$60 million. Some of this loss has been generated by an exaggerated media reaction. An AP story that erroneously reported that checkpoints had been set up for tourists probably cost Oaxaca City millions of dollars in lost tourism. While Oaxaca City has been hurt economically, the informal economy has continued to function largely unaffected by the strikes and the formal sector is treading water with the continuing, albeit significantly reduced, tourist crowd. MEXICO 00004619 004 OF 004 Since the teachers strike annually in May and June, those months were not anomalies for Oaxaca's economy. However, the continuation of the strikes hurt businesses badly in July, when the annual Guelaguetza festival was cancelled. Apart from nearby villages whose economies are connected to Oaxaca City's tourism industry, the economy in the rest of Oaxaca state, including coastal tourist resorts, appears largely unchanged by the protests. Comment -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Teachers union and APPO leaders have capitalized on public resentment toward the governor following the events of June 14. The protestors are angry and well-organized. This staying power gives credibility to their stated refusal to end the protest until Ruiz is out of office. Despite anger toward the governor, most Oaxacans are accustomed to social peace and many outside APPO and the teachers union want a quicker resolution of the political crisis. The protestors know they want Ruiz out, but an unanswered question is who could unite the multiplicity of forces calling for his ouster and replace him. ¶16. (SBU) Comment continued: While the movement to oust the governor is statewide, prospects for violence are limited to Oaxaca City and a few contested municipalities. At this point, it is difficult to see an exit to this tense standoff. The more radical of the protestors can be expected to continue upping the ante until they provoke the governor's departure or a military intervention. There are no indications that Ruiz would be able to regain his ability to govern by waiting this period out or using force to disperse the protestors. An intervention by government forces could easily result in bloodshed. ¶17. (SBU) Comment continued: There are few signs that Oaxaca will become a "battleground" for the national elections dispute. Popular support for AMLO and his electoral challenge may be lending some energy to the broader Oaxaca strike, but the connection remains hard to discern. If, however, the national PRD party at the request of AMLO urges nation-wide protests calling for a full recount, Oaxaca would be one of the easiest areas to mobilize. As Oaxaca's protest continues, it is the children of that state who have the most to lose. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity GARZA