Oaxaca - The Spark of Revolution

by Pachuco Monday, Oct. 16, 2006 at 10:31 AM

Hundreds mourn the death of APPA protestor Alejandro Garcia Hernandez in Oaxaca

Last night brought hundreds of mourners to the Old Palace Chapel in Oaxaca to bid farewell to a comrade in the struggle against the oppression and corruption that has come to symbolize the Mexican Government.

Alejandro Garcia Hernandez (age 41) died in a cowardly attack perpetrated by soldiers dressed as civilians who opened fire on a barricade set up by protestors.

According to authorities, Jonathan Rios, a soldier assigned to a state army barracks was detained and questioned for the shooting. Authorities insist that the shooting incident was the result of a drunken argument between Rios and Garcia Hernandez and had nothing to do with the political dispute in Oaxaca.

According to the police report, Rios and three other men were driving away from a bar around 2:00 AM Saturday came across one of the protestors’ barricades. When demonstrators refused to let Rios and his group to pass, Rios climbed out of the car and began shooting at the protestors, wounding two of the protestors. The other protestor was Marco Antonio Joaquin (age 19) who was shot in the shoulder and later released from a local hospital after receiving treatment.

Though this shooting has added to the tension in the unrest that has griped Oaxaca for the past five months, protestors remained peaceful. The capitol of Oaxaca has been on the verge of chaos and could be the spark that ignites a revolution in Mexico.