As the immediate panic and urgency of the events surrounding the paramilitary ambush near San Juan Copala, Oaxaca wanes, attempts to analyze the ambush within a broader context emerge. Below are several articles, audio and videos that I've found useful and I hope that you do as well.
Oaxaca Caravan: The Militarization and Paramilitarization of Mexico, by Kristin Bricker:
The sudden international media attention on San Juan Copala could leave the impression that the attack was an isolated incident or, at worst, yet another deplorable act linked to Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz's administration. However, paramilitaries have a long history in Mexico. They were a fixture of the dirty war in the 1960s and 70s. After a brief lull in activity, they experienced a resurgence during the Ernesto Zedillo administration. When Zedillo took office, he began a campaign of low-intensity warfare against the Zapatistas, which involved the creation and maintenance of paramilitary organizations.
Conflict around Mexican town at center of shooting goes back decades, by Free Speech Radio News:
Worldwide attention is shifting away from Oaxaca, Mexico after the rescue of the last remaining survivors from a deadly paramilitary attack on a humanitarian caravan. But the situation that spurred that caravan to enter the region continues. The remote indigenous town that declared autonomy in January 2007 remains surrounded by a paramilitary blockade. But the context of bitter and violent conflict in the Triqui region stretches back decades. Reporter Shannon Young takes a look at the historical context of the current crisis.
International Human Rights Caravan Ambushed, Two Murdered En Route to San Juan Copala, by Nancy Davies:
All indications point to prior knowledge by Governor Ulises Ruiz (URO) of the caravan’s visit. A police report obtained by Noticias voz e imagen de Oaxaca daily indicated that police tracked the vehicles on route and knew the identities of many who traveled in them. The governor had been informed at least two weeks in advance of the caravan’s arrival, through Miguel Álvarez, president of Servicios y Asesoría para la Paz (Serapaz). According the municipal president of San Juan Copala and Serapaz, “the Secretary General of Government for Oaxaca, Evencio Martínez Ramírez, always knew of the visit” to deliver food to some 700 families trapped for four months by the Ubisort blockade.. “The government of Ulises Ruiz lied when, to avoid connection with the events, it claims they had no knowledge that the caravan would arrive.”
Mexico's State of Impunity, by Laura Carlsen:
Human rights violations in Mexico have been on the rise in the last few years, with a sixfold increase in complaints against the armed forces since it launched the drug war. Civilian deaths have increased in the context of drug war militarization. The nation faces a crisis of confidence in the government's ability -- or willingness -- to provide even the most basic human security....The U.S. State Department has ignored this crisis to justify its support for the failed drug war of President Felipe Calderón. Security aid to police and armed forces that violate human rights consistently empowers a system of violations.
San Juan Copala by Sarah Menkedick:
These events are not distant from us. They are not far away. They are realities that creep up in black smoke around the edges of our realities and at times suffocate them, and threaten to snuff them out. And yet they are also The Dominant Realities – those of The Institutions, The State, The Governor, The System. They are the systems under which we live all the time, only at times uncomfortably encountering their unpleasantness, their innate rottenness, only sometimes smelling the bodies and feeling the terror.
Oaxaca Ambush Highlights Another Governance Challenge for Mexico, by Freedom House (which incidentally uses a photo of mine for their post):
States such as Oaxaca essentially remain fiefdoms, with little democratic accountability, making attempts to promote good governance at the subnational level exceedingly difficult. The federal government ostensibly has power to rein in rogue governors, but has failed to challenge local power holders in a number of places, Oaxaca among them.
Finally, for those who speak Spanish and want a more in-depth look at the Triqui region and San Juan Copala in particular, can check out this one-hour documentary called San Juan Copala, Chuman'a Autónomo. Below is the first section. The full playlist is here.
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