About 50 demonstrators gathered outside the Mexican consulate in New York City on Aug. 18 in an attempt to prevent Oaxaca governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz from participating in a press conference and a meeting with local Mexican community leaders. Ruiz has been the target of militant protests by Oaxacan unionists, social activists and indigenous groups for more than a year. Many of the New York protesters were friends and colleagues of New York-based journalist Brad Will, who was killed in Oaxaca in October 2006 while covering the protests. Gov. Ruiz was scheduled to visit New York as part of tour to US cities by the migration committee of the National Governors' Conference (Conago).
After protesting at the consulate, the demonstators learned that the governors and their staffs were eating at Salute, a nearby Italian restaurant. Most of the protesters moved to the restaurant and blocked the entrances. The delegation was forced to cancel the press conference and meeting; they were finally able to leave in a consulate vehicle under police escort. The delegation included Guanajuato governor Juan Manuel Oliva Ramirez, Colima governor Jesus Silverio Cavazos Cevallos and Zacatecas governor Amalia Garcia Medina, of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). Gov. Ruiz's representatives were present, but Ruiz himself was missing. No explanation was given for his absence. (La Jornada, Aug. 19; reports on New York City Indymedia, Aug. 19)
From Weekly News Update on the Americas [1], Aug. 12
See our last posts on Mexico [2], and the struggle in Oaxaca [3].
