State Militarizes the Zapoteco Municipality of Santiago Xanica

Translated and reposted to It’s Going Down

On Wednesday, January 11, representatives of the Council of Autonomous Oaxacan Organizations, made up of the following: CODEDI, OIDHO, CINPA, UCIO-EZ, carried out a dialogue with the secretary general of government, Alejandro Aviléz. In this dialogue we presented the issues surrounding the post-electoral conflict in the municipality of Santiago Xanica, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca. We explicitly asked that the presumed president elect Ricardo Luría refrain from entering as the municipal head specifically stressing the following act.

On January 4^th, our compañero and ex-municipal president Cesar Luis Díaz had his house broken into. C. Ricardo Luría and his town council committed these acts of violence accompanied by hooded men that carried high-caliber weapons exclusive to military use. They threatened the family of our compañero and asked for his whereabouts. In virtue of him not being home, these individuals pointed their guns at the family of Cesar Luis Díaz, leaving the message that he should be careful because they were going to murder him at any moment.

Instead of providing a legal solution to this conflict, on Friday the 13^th three convoys of the Mexican Army were present in the community, supposedly with the task of disarming the population and establishing peace. However, in reality they were providing support for the criminal group under the command of C. Ricardo Luría.

The organizations of COOA strongly protest the militarization of the municipality of Santiago Xanica and we name responsible the secretary general of government Alejandro Avilés for this flagrant violation of the agreements reached. We consider that, far from being a solution to the conflict, these actions will worsen the conflict and put in danger the population in general and the lives of our of companñerxs in particular.

We demand the immediate removal of the Mexican Army from the municipal territory of Santiago Xanica and the fulfillment of the agreements reached on Wednesday, January 11 of this year.

No to the militarization of the Zapoteca Indigenous community of Santiago Xanica!

Respect to municipal autonomy!

End the impunity of criminal groups!

For the defense of our rights and our territories, not one step back!

Oaxaca de Juárez, January 15^th, 2017

Translated from the original from Consejo de Organizaciones Oaxaqueñas Autonomas