Oaxaca Support

Resolution in Support of the Oaxacan Teachers Union - Sindicato Nacional
de Trabajadores de la Educacion (SNTE)
submitted by Latina/o Caucus
10/21/06


WHEREAS, 70,000 school teachers from the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la
Educacion (SNTE), sector 22 in Oaxaca Mexico have been on strike since May 22, 2006 in a
just struggle for higher wages and better working conditions; and

WHEREAS, monthly teacher salaries average between $400-600/month and where the
majority of the population is indigenous and lives in poverty; and

WHEREAS, Mexican security forces have used excessive and disproportionate force against
protestors in the state of Oaxaca, and

WHEREAS, after five months of civil unrest the teachers have gained popular support under the
APPO (Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca) and the struggle has evolved into a broad
protest movement with strong support from many factions; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that CFA supports the agreement between the Oaxacan
state and the union (SNTE) proposing a 30% pay increase over six years; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that CFA send a letter of support to the teachers union in
support of this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that CFA calls on the Mexican authorities to act appropriately
during protests, in accordance with the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms
by Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that CFA calls for a prompt, full and impartial investigation into
the reported torture and beatings of strikers and supporters and reminds the authorities of their
obligations to prohibit torture and ill-treatment under the UN Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to follow the UN Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that CFA calls on Mexican authorities to revise the charges
levied against detained activists to ensure that the evidence against them is adequately
substantiated and founded; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the CFA asks the U.S. President George Bush and California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to use diplomatic efforts at their disposal to support the spirit
of this resolution.


Unanimously Approved by
the CFA Assembly
October 22, 2006
COPIES TO :

Governor of Oaxaca
Ulises Ruiz Ortiz
Gobernador del Estado de Oaxaca, Carretera Oaxaca, Puerto Angel, Km. 9.5
Santa María Coyotopec, C. P. 71254, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MEXICO
Fax : + 52 951 511 6879 (if someone answers, ask "tono de fax, por
favor")
Salutation : Señor Gobernador/Dear Governor

Attorney General of Oaxaca
Lic. Lizbeth Caña Calez
Procuradora del Estado de Oaxaca
Avenida Luis Echeverría s/n, La Experimental, San Antonio de la Cal, C. P. 71236,
Oaxaca,
Oaxaca, MEXICO
Fax : + 52 951 511 5519
Salutation : Estimada Procuradora/Dear Attorney General

Federal Attorney General
Lic. Daniel Cabeza de Vaca
Procurador General de la República, Procuraduría General de la República
Reforma Cuauhtémoc esq.Violeta 75, Col. Guerrero, Delegación Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P. 06 500, MEXICO
Fax : + 525 55 346 0983 (if a voice reply say : “me da tono de fax por
favor”)
Salutation : Dear Attorney General

Human rights organization in Oaxaca
Red Oaxaqueña de derechos humanos
Calle Crespo 524 Interior 4-E, Col. Centro, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, CP. 68000, MEXICO

Ambassade des Etats Unis Mexicains
Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 94
1050 Bruxelles
Fax : 02.644.08.19
Fax : 02.646.87.68
Email : embamexbelgica-ue@skynet.be