The here and now... and what and why

Complacency is a trap. At least that’s what I was thinking when I up and left the comfort of a Yankee prep school gig, where I taught music, amongst other things, for 28 years. There was also that life long career as a composer, musician and artist.

First, it was a year in St. Thomas, USVI, working as a reporter and shooting photography and then, a year in San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Time passed.
More time passed and a year back in the Athens of America followed by a hasty return to Oaxaca where it is all happening.
A couple of years in San Sebastian Etla and now, just down the road in San Pablo Etla. Life is good.

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For additional photography please visit my flickr page.
You can find my music on Jango (World & latin - Worldbeat) and at iTunes and most online stores.
¡Soy consciente de todas las tradiciones del Internet!
If you are coming to Oaxaca, please contact me for tours or advice.

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo
The view from Corazon del Pueblo

The hereafter re me

My photo
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Musician, photographer, videographer, reporter, ex-officio teacher, now attempting to be a world traveler

Friday, May 20, 2016

They're baaack!

San Juan Capistrano may have its swallows and Hinckley, Ohio may have its buzzards, but Oaxaca has Seccion XXII, the teacher's union and they have, once again taken over the zocalo. 
 "Miscericordia" means mercy.... irony lives.
 It is in the 90's and there have been torrential rains.  Looks like fun.
And with them come the street vendors turning the beautiful zocalo into something less that desirable.
They have been marching and blockading roads throughout the area.... and making lots of friends.  They are protesting the new educational reforms and they may have legitimate gripes, but their tactics and history of being one of the most powerful and corrupt unions in the country, all work against them.  The general population is so tired of them, the anger is palpable.  This is the NW entrance to the zocalo.
It really is quite sad.  This has been going on for forty years and consequently the educational system has completely failed the population.  And obviously, this damn near kills all the normal business in the city center.  It's depressing.
Now, the government has said:
The General Director of the State Institute of public education in Oaxaca (IEEPA), Moises Robles Cruz, announced that on the fourth day of mobilizations magisterial, the State educational agency in coordination with the Secretariat of public education (SEP), will begin procedures for the termination of a thousand 379 education workers who have been unjustifiably to their places of work.

Robles Cruz pointed out that all workers at the service of education which have been absent from their workplaces during four consecutive days - without just cause - will instruct a process of termination of the contract without liability for the State, as set out in the article 76 of the law General of the service professional teaching force throughout the country.

For this reason, the educational authority of Oaxaca makes a call to the leadership to return to classes, as well as put an end to acts of pressure affecting the free movement of the population, the taking of public facilities and the economic dynamics of the entity, said the official.
 And there are thousands of federal police here and more arriving.  It should be.... who knows?

3 comments:

DStowens said...

How have all the previous protest actions ended?

Christopher Stowens said...

Not well. The last one lasted for 14 months. The one in 2006 ended in anarchy and economic collapse. That will not happen this time. Then, the teachers had support. Now, they have pissed off almost everyone.

DStowens said...

Damn. Ya gotta support teachers. And, ya gotta support unions. But why do they have to make it so damn hard?