A protester was shot dead when assailants fired on a march of about 8,000 people calling for the governor's resignation in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.
The killing on Thursday came after months of escalating political violence in the historic state capital, Oaxaca city.
The 50-year-old protester, identified as Jose Jimenez, was taken to a hospital with bullet wounds and pronounced dead on arrival, according to his wife Clara Jimenez, who was at the hospital sobbing.
Clara said the bullets appeared to come from a house that the marchers passed. After the shooting protesters set fire to the house, a blaze that firefighters later put out.
Protesters also captured four men who they believe carried out the shooting, said Daniel Rosas, a spokesman for the leftist Oaxaca People's Assembly, which organized the march.
Rosas said the men would be presented to media later. In recent weeks, the protesters have captured several men they accuse of attacks and have later handed them over to federal investigators.
Rosas accused Governor Ulises Ruiz of being behind the shooting. Officials in Ruiz's office denied the charge and condemned the killing.
The assembly is demanding the resignation of Ruiz, whom they accuse of using force to repress dissent and of rigging the 2004 election to win office.
Sustained protests descended on Oaxaca in June after police attacked a demonstration of striking teachers demanding a wage increase.
More than 2,000 protesters have camped out in the city center, building barricades, smashing windows and stealing government vehicles. Armed assailants have shot at a radio station and a newspaper that support the protests, injuring one reporter.
Meanwhile, police are nowhere to be seen in the city center.
On Wednesday, two men and a 12-year-old boy headed to join the protest camps in Oaxaca city were shot dead on a road about 250km from Oaxaca, but it is unclear if that killing was connected to the protests.
The confrontations have driven many tourists out of Oaxaca city, which is popular with international tourists for its cobbled streets, markets and cuisine.
Business groups say the conflict has caused losses of more than US$50 million.
Ruiz is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico for 71 years until President Vicente Fox's election in 2000.
Late Thursday, the PRI released a statement in support of Ruiz.
"The situation that is surging in the state is very worrying because it has the risk of spreading," the party said. "It is an explosive cocktail."
On Sunday, Ruiz asked the federal government to send in federal paramilitary police to restore order.
Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal said that federal troops would not be sent in as he believed the problem could be resolved through negotiations.
RE-EDUCATION: The ambassador to Australia told reporters that he understood there ‘might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China’ China’s ambassador to Australia yesterday said that Beijing is prepared to use “all necessary means” to prevent Taiwan from being independent, saying there can be “no compromise” on its “one China” principle. Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian (肖千) repeatedly told the National Press Club in Canberra that the US was to blame for the recent escalation in tensions, adding that China’s decision to launch ballistic missiles in live-fire exercises in response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was “legitimate and justified.” Xiao said that after a “good start” with the new government of Australian Prime Minister
Newly married and with his first child on the way, auto worker Wang (王) wanted to move into the apartment he bought in Wuhan three years ago, but those hopes were dashed by China’s ballooning property crisis. Saddled with nearly US$300,000 in debt and with his unit nowhere near completion, the 34-year-old decided he had enough and stopped making mortgage payments. He is among numerous home buyers across dozens of cities in China who have boycotted payments over fears that their properties will not be completed by cash-strapped, debt-laden developers. “They said construction would resume soon,” Wang said, only giving his surname. “But
PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS: Seoul voiced ‘strong regret’ as Kim’s sister threatened to eradicate South Korean authorities for sending the virus across the border North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suffered from a “high fever” during a recent COVID-19 outbreak, his sister Kim Yo-jong said yesterday, as she vowed to “eradicate” South Korean authorities if they continued to tolerate propaganda leaflets the regime blames for spreading the virus. Kim Yo-jong blamed “South Korean puppets” for sending “dirty objects” across the border in leaflets carried by balloons, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The revelation of her brother’s illness marked an unusual admission for a regime that rarely comments on the leader’s health — and then only to show that he shares the struggles of
A landmark sexual harassment case in China yesterday returned to court after an earlier ruling dealt a blow to the country’s fledgling #MeToo movement. Zhou Xiaoxuan (周曉璇) stepped forward in 2018 to accuse state TV host Zhu Jun (朱軍) of forcibly kissing and groping her during her 2014 internship at the broadcaster. While the case of Zhou, now 29, inspired many others to share their experiences of sexual assault publicly and sparked a social media storm, a court ruled last year there was insufficient evidence to back her allegation. Zhou appealed, and returned to court for another hearing yesterday in Beijing. “I still feel
RSS