Thursday, 18 March 2010

Strikes, revolt and tension in Mexico


PARTS of Mexico are in revolt during widespread angry national strike action.

Reports My World Is My Weapon: "The town of Juandho, Hidalgo, has been under siege since yesterday, when members of the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) hung strike banners on their former workplaces as part of the national strike in support of the SME.

"The SME reports that the town's electricity went out last night. During the night, hundreds of federal police arrived. There are now between 1,000 and 1,500 federal police surrounding the town. The police presence is overwhelming: Tetepango county, where the Juandho community is located, has about 9,000 residents.

"At approximately 3am this morning, federal police began raiding houses in search of SME leaders. SME Central Committee member Gregorio Paredes and his family are in hiding because federal police have burst into several homes looking for him. SME members Diego Sánchez Mendoza, Sergio Mendoza Rivera, and Adrian Monroy Mejía have been detained and beaten. The SME reports that dozens of people have been disappeared."

Writes Axis of Logic:
"SME members and supporters blocked the entrance to the Juandho LyFC complex with piles of dirt. According to El Universal, "This angered the federal police, leading to a confrontation." The police fired tear gas and pepper spray at the crowd, and fired live rounds into the air. El Universal reports that following the repression, approximately three police helicopters and 400 federal police arrived on the scene to drive back protesters.

"Following the police repression, floodgates that guard a canal of raw sewage were opened, flooding the LyFC complex and the police inside. At the time of publication, it has not been confirmed how the floodgates opened. However, the flood seems to have incapacitated the police--reports from Juandho indicate that the SME still holds its blockade of the LyFC complex there.

"The SME continues to blockade key LyFC buildings, and will do so indefinitely. The workers have organized themselves into shifts that will maintain the picket lines around the clock. As nighttime fell, a "tense calm" fell over the blockades. Police continue to attempt to penetrate the blockades, particularly in Nexaca, Hidalgo, and there is fear that police will attack in the night while the majority of the region is asleep.

"Actions in support of the SME reportedly occurred in about 25 states."