Killers in Oaxaca!

Killers

Originally uploaded by oaxoax.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timporter/281453237/

Why did it take the life of this fine brother ~ Brad Will ~ for the rest of the world to pay more attention to the terrible situation in Oaxaca that has been brewing for a long time!
+Peta-de-Aztlan+
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These are the men who shot and killed American photojournalist Brad Will and three others during an unprovoked attack on striking teachers and their supporters in Oaxaca, Mexico. The strike has gone on for more than 5 months and the government has resorted to increasingly violent tactics.

The photographer was a friend of ..crane.k.. and she posted a picture of him here. You can see other photos from the shooting, including the mortally wounded Will here. This photograph was taken by Raul Estrella, a photographer for El Universal newspaper in Mexico City. The men have since been identified as Oaxacan police officials.

As you know, I have deep connections to Oaxaca, having a house and many friends there. I just returned from a trip there and spent a good amount of time talking with the teachers and others. See photos from that trip here.

The more I think about this killing the angrier I get. If there is any good to come from the death of yet another journalist in yet another conflict zone maybe it will be the recognition by the U.S. press and the American public of the situation in Mexico, particularly in the impoverished southern states, most of which are still controlled by a tyrannical, corrupt political system.

There is no education there -- average about 3rd to 5th grade level. There is often no water. There are no jobs (Oaxaca, Guerrero, and other southern states are huge exporters of labor to the U.S.). There is no political recourse -- elections are bought and paid for by the ruling elite, including that of the current Oaxacan governor, Ulises Ruiz, who controls the police who were behind the deaths of this photographer and nearly two dozen others in this strike.

I am not a political activist. I am a journalist. But what the strike in Oaxaca -- and the increasing violence -- is doing is removing the facade most Americans see in Mexico -- the beachfront resorts and the quaint, colonial towns. Behind this front is an impoverished nation that cannot feed, educate or find work for its own people, but whose rulers at every level -- and I mean from the Los Pinos to the smallest municipio -- enrich themselves routinely at the public trough.

And the response of the U.S. government ? Build a wall! Incredible. Instead of pressuring a nation whose cheap labor (and oil) we depend on to support our economy to reform its corrupt political system, our government opts for a symbolic gesture that guarantees to increase tension on both sides of the border and does nothing to deal with the root causes of why millions of Mexicans are willing to risk death to come here so they can clean our toilets, pick and cook our food and raise our children.

I hope Brad Will's death can contribute to the end of this charade.

Comments

	KBlood says: These are the "police"? Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	SkyShaper says: thanks for this !!!!! Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	JJ San says: It takes a truly dedicated photographer to take this photo... the gun is pointed straight at the camera. On a more personal and insignificant note, I'm definitely glad I already decided to cancel the wedding I had planned for Oaxaca in December... now I wonder if I should have it in Mexico at all. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	Jennifer Esperanza says: ~ this is so powerful & sad ~ prayers for Brad & his family fuck the US & our wall Mexico is part of us we are The Americas • PAZ Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	Trank Grappa says: shocking news :( this is really very bad what is going on there... and it happens just around the corner... Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	..crane.k.. says: tim, thank you very much for posting this. in the coming days i will compile some old letters and dispatches from brad on my blog. nyc.indymedia.org has compiled a vast quantity of information. brad's video from oaxaca is available now at the nyc indymedia site; it was very hard to watch, because it includes the moment when he was shot. an awful scream. all of this is awful. thank you also for your commentary about the situation. i am so shocked, so stunned, so grief-stricken, i don't have a political word in my mouth at the moment. at our vigil last night, the tone was utterly subdued, and it was a gathering of some of the most political and oftentimes rowdy folks in new york. but all of us are heartbroken. to know brad was to love him. and to be loved by brad was a rich, wondrous thing. it sounds corny but i can really feel his love for me, and i am taking comfort in it. thanks for all. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	visual.resistance says: Many of us in VR knew Brad as well, his death comes with the desire that the government resovles this conflict without more violence. Unfortunately there are federal troops advancing onthe city now. -k Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	visual.resistance says: They are supposedly supporters of the ruling, PRI, party in Oaxaca. Or off-duty cops. It's not totally known -k Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	..crane.k.. says: the word "paramilitaries" has been used frequently, which would mean, in essence, thugs funded by the government to put down the popular uprising. policeman following no rule of law, just the orders of corrupt politicians, orders that do not respect human life. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	Guerroso urbano says: Estoy de acuerdo con los comentarios de Tim, pero debo decir que también los líderes de los movimientos de masas, reciben mucho dinero por hacer los escándalos que forman, los cabecillas de la Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca, también engañan a la gente, también se aprovechan de la situación y en conjunción con el gobierno toman el dinero de México para sus intereses. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	bamzin says: all my support for those who are in oaxaca, fighting for something better Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	bamzin says: NYC indymedia posted a very beautiful communique about Brad's death, you may read it here: nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/77958.html Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	Mi-ly says: These are the men who shot and killed American photojournalist Brad Will and three others during an unprovoked attack on striking teachers and their supporters in Oaxaca, Mexico. The strike has gone on for more than 5 months and the government has resorted to increasingly violent tactics. The photographer was a friend of ..crane.k.. and she posted a picture of him here. You can see other photos from the shooting, including the mortally wounded Will here. This photograph was taken by Raul Estrella, a photographer for El Universal newspaper in Mexico City. The men have since been identified as Oaxacan police officials. As you know, I have deep connections to Oaxaca, having a house and many friends there. I just returned from a trip there and spent a good amount of time talking with the teachers and others. See photos from that trip here. The more I think about this killing the angrier I get. If there is any good to come from the death of yet another journalist in yet another conflict zone maybe it will be the recognition by the U.S. press and the American public of the situation in Mexico, particularly in the impoverished southern states, most of which are still controlled by a tyrannical, corrupt political system. There is no education there -- average about 3rd to 5th grade level. There is often no water. There are no jobs (Oaxaca, Guerrero, and other southern states are huge exporters of labor to the U.S.). There is no political recourse -- elections are bought and paid for by the ruling elite, including that of the current Oaxacan governor, Ulises Ruiz, who controls the police who were behind the deaths of this photographer and nearly two dozen others in this strike. I am not a political activist. I am a journalist. But what the strike in Oaxaca -- and the increasing violence -- is doing is removing the facade most Americans see in Mexico -- the beachfront resorts and the quaint, colonial towns. Behind this front is an impoverished nation that cannot feed, educate or find work for its own people, but whose rulers at every level -- and I mean from the Los Pinos to the smallest municipio -- enrich themselves routinely at the public trough. And the response of the U.S. government ? Build a wall! Incredible. Instead of pressuring a nation whose cheap labor (and oil) we depend on to support our economy to reform its corrupt political system, our government opts for a symbolic gesture that guarantees to increase tension on both sides of the border and does nothing to deal with the root causes of why millions of Mexicans are willing to risk death to come here so they can clean our toilets, pick and cook our food and raise our children. I hope Brad Will's death can contribute to the end of this charade. Comments KBlood says: These are the "police"? Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) SkyShaper says: thanks for this !!!!! Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) JJ San says: It takes a truly dedicated photographer to take this photo... the gun is pointed straight at the camera. On a more personal and insignificant note, I'm definitely glad I already decided to cancel the wedding I had planned for Oaxaca in December... now I wonder if I should have it in Mexico at all. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) Jennifer Esperanza says: ~ this is so powerful & sad ~ prayers for Brad & his family fuck the US & our wall Mexico is part of us we are The Americas • PAZ Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) Trank Grappa says: shocking news :( this is really very bad what is going on there... and it happens just around the corner... Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) ..crane.k.. says: tim, thank you very much for posting this. in the coming days i will compile some old letters and dispatches from brad on my blog. nyc.indymedia.org has compiled a vast quantity of information. brad's video from oaxaca is available now at the nyc indymedia site; it was very hard to watch, because it includes the moment when he was shot. an awful scream. all of this is awful. thank you also for your commentary about the situation. i am so shocked, so stunned, so grief-stricken, i don't have a political word in my mouth at the moment. at our vigil last night, the tone was utterly subdued, and it was a gathering of some of the most political and oftentimes rowdy folks in new york. but all of us are heartbroken. to know brad was to love him. and to be loved by brad was a rich, wondrous thing. it sounds corny but i can really feel his love for me, and i am taking comfort in it. thanks for all. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) visual.resistance says: Many of us in VR knew Brad as well, his death comes with the desire that the government resovles this conflict without more violence. Unfortunately there are federal troops advancing onthe city now. -k Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) visual.resistance says: They are supposedly supporters of the ruling, PRI, party in Oaxaca. Or off-duty cops. It's not totally known -k Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) ..crane.k.. says: the word "paramilitaries" has been used frequently, which would mean, in essence, thugs funded by the government to put down the popular uprising. policeman following no rule of law, just the orders of corrupt politicians, orders that do not respect human life. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) Guerroso urbano says: Estoy de acuerdo con los comentarios de Tim, pero debo decir que también los líderes de los movimientos de masas, reciben mucho dinero por hacer los escándalos que forman, los cabecillas de la Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca, también engañan a la gente, también se aprovechan de la situación y en conjunción con el gobierno toman el dinero de México para sus intereses. Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) bamzin says: all my support for those who are in oaxaca, fighting for something better Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) bamzin says: NYC indymedia posted a very beautiful communique about Brad's death, you may read it here: nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/77958.html Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink ) Mi-ly says: well said. Amazing photo. I love this photo - had to come back and bring you this: You are my winner! Please add this photo to www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/ Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink ) AJ Franklin says: These dirty bastards... I saw this in EXPLORE!! Helluva Shot!! You are invited to add this image to www.flickr.com/groups/helluva_shot -- Seen in the interestingness archives. (?) Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink ) Bialy-Fox says: Powerful image. Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink ) ilikecake... says: Thank you. Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink ) Johnz says: JJ - you ask if you should consider Mexico at all for your wedding in light of the violence. ... I spent 6 months driving the entire west coast of mainland (not Baja) Mexico and fell in love with the country and people. I spent close to 8 weeks in Oaxaca city and am devistated to see this violence in such a beautiful town. In spite of what Tim says about the corruption in Mexico the people of the country are, for the most part, incredibly accomodating and loving people. My van was not at all reliable and broke down numerous times. Every time I had offers of assistance and in 2 cases ended up accepting an offer for accomodation and meals while I waited for parts and service to my vehicle in one remote community or another. Always I was met with interest into what life in Canada was like and geniune enthusiasm to share their own life's experiences with me. I fully plan to return to Mexico and would love to be married in a city like Zijuatenejo, Oaxaca, Tuxula Gutierrez or Morelos. Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink ) oaxoax says: JohnZ ... Thanks for your comments. They are absolutely correct. The people of Mexico, especially in the small towns, are warm and welcoming. And, for the record, I was married in Oaxaca. :) Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink ) thomieh says: Scary this shot, and your story too. It makes me think. Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink ) rodolforubiales says: excellent..if you can use that word shot...England has a lot to look forward to having been sold down the river to USA inc. (not intended to offend humanists out there in USA) Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink ) AnomalousNYC says: you can see the whole history of latin america in this stupid bunch of gun-toting drunks - except that behind these murderous fuckers are a bunch of suitcases full of american guns and money. A Prayer for Brad Will Posted 2 days ago. ( permalink ) ..crane.k.. says: well put, anomalous. Posted 2 days ago. ( permalink ) You are my winner! Please add this photo to www.flickr.com/groups/mywinners/ Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	AJ Franklin says: These dirty bastards... I saw this in EXPLORE!! Helluva Shot!! You are invited to add this image to www.flickr.com/groups/helluva_shot -- Seen in the interestingness archives. (?) Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	Bialy-Fox says: Powerful image. Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	ilikecake... says: Thank you. Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	Johnz says: JJ - you ask if you should consider Mexico at all for your wedding in light of the violence. ... I spent 6 months driving the entire west coast of mainland (not Baja) Mexico and fell in love with the country and people. I spent close to 8 weeks in Oaxaca city and am devistated to see this violence in such a beautiful town. In spite of what Tim says about the corruption in Mexico the people of the country are, for the most part, incredibly accomodating and loving people. My van was not at all reliable and broke down numerous times. Every time I had offers of assistance and in 2 cases ended up accepting an offer for accomodation and meals while I waited for parts and service to my vehicle in one remote community or another. Always I was met with interest into what life in Canada was like and geniune enthusiasm to share their own life's experiences with me. I fully plan to return to Mexico and would love to be married in a city like Zijuatenejo, Oaxaca, Tuxula Gutierrez or Morelos. Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	oaxoax says: JohnZ ... Thanks for your comments. They are absolutely correct. The people of Mexico, especially in the small towns, are warm and welcoming. And, for the record, I was married in Oaxaca. :) Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	thomieh says: Scary this shot, and your story too. It makes me think. Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	rodolforubiales says: excellent..if you can use that word shot...England has a lot to look forward to having been sold down the river to USA inc. (not intended to offend humanists out there in USA) Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )
	AnomalousNYC says: you can see the whole history of latin america in this stupid bunch of gun-toting drunks - except that behind these murderous fuckers are a bunch of suitcases full of american guns and money. A Prayer for Brad Will Posted 2 days ago. ( permalink )
	..crane.k.. says: well put, anomalous. Posted 2 days ago. ( permalink )