Police Storm Oaxaca to Suppress Protest

OAXACA, Mexico, Oct. 29 -- On the order of President Vicente Fox, federal police backed by armored vehicles and water cannons tore down barricades and stormed embattled Oaxaca on Sunday, seizing control of the city center from protesters who had held it for five months.

A 15-year-old boy guarding one barricade was killed by a tear gas canister, said Jesica Sanchez, a human rights worker.

The conflict has pitted the governor of the state of Oaxaca against a coalition of citizen groups and striking teachers demanding his ouster.

With helicopters roaring overhead, police earlier entered the city, normally a picturesque tourist destination, from several sides. They marched up to a final metal barrier blocking the center, but pulled back as protesters armed with sticks attacked them from behind, hurling burning tires. The air filled with black smoke and tear gas.

Some demonstrators used syringes to pierce their arms and legs, then painted signs in their own blood decrying the police.

As night fell, however, protesters abandoned the center and regrouped at a local university. They pledged to continue their battle to persuade Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz to resign, even as police tore down the banners and tents in the center that had served as demonstration headquarters.

At least eight people have died in the unrest since August, including Brad Will, an American and volunteer correspondent for the Web site Indymedia.org who was shot dead Friday along with two Mexican protesters. Fox, who leaves office Dec. 1, had for months resisted repeated calls to send federal forces to quell the protests.

In Oaxaca, the teachers protest is an annual rite that began 26 years ago. The protests are usually peaceful and generally last a week or two, but this year the teachers became infuriated when Ruiz sent police to forcefully remove demonstrators from the city's idyllic squares.

Last week, teachers tentatively ratified an agreement that would allow them to return to classes at an unspecified date and receive 30 percent raises spread over six years. Their unmet central demand, Ruiz's resignation, threatened to undermine the fragile pact.