OAXACA IS BURNING He Past Two Weeks Have Seen a Unions, Ngos and Political Parties

www.freedompress.org.uk 18 NOVEMBER 2006 Nanotechnology A new unionocracy The IWW interview Dead Prez review IN S ID E ►► page 3 page 4 page 5 page 8 OAXACA IS BURNING he past two weeks have seen a unions, NGOs and political parties. dramatic escalation in the social The APPO has claimed absolute struggle in Oaxaca as the Mexican jurisdiction over the city, but this is a Tstate seeks to reassert its authority over little disingenuous: in fact, everywhere a city that, since regional police were a more spontaneous direct democracy forced from the city in June, has been has flourished, most clearly in the largely autonomous from state control. streets where APPO’s pacifistic On the pretext of the murder of five exhortations have had little impact on communards (including New York people’s actual tactics. Indymedia video journalist Brad Wills) The early days of November saw a by pro-government paramilitaries on series of skirmishes take place as police 29th October, on the 30th a huge force sought to clear barricades in the areas of thousands of armed federal police of the city around the Zocalo. The smashed through the network of most significant such battle was at City barricades that had been established University, on 2nd November. The around the city centre and made their university is of some significant way to the city’s central square, Zocalo, importance to the movement, housing where they established themselves. The the last communised radio station operation cost the lives of at least two University Radio as well as the Oaxacans. headquarters of APPO, displaced from This latest escalation comes at the their Zocalo encampment by the police end of a long unfolding of social manoeuvre on 30th October. smse^e-in Oaxaca. Beginning with a “ As the-police operation Began in the teacher’s strike in May, police early morning, a call-out on University provocation lead on 14th June to the Radio drew thousands from the cops being forced out of the city by the surrounding area to defend the teachers and others in solidarity with barricades securing the road in front of them. Over the next months, university the university. Six hours of highly This community centre in Dalston, London, has now been evicted - see page 2. and public buildings were occupied, disciplined and intense fighting marked and public life reorganised on a the battle, as the students and workers collective and immediate basis as state fought the police backwards and A protest march on the 5 th way: they were told to ‘avoid manoeuvres before. The police have power collapsed. forwards with home-made rocket November drew ‘hundreds of confrontations’. On the 7th November reaffirmed their intention to assert The most visible example of this was launchers, molotov cocktails and thousands’ according to an NYC a series of bombs exploded in various ‘social order’ and crush the movement. the foundation towards the end of June rubble, while in the rear were teams of Indymedia report; when the march government offices; they were claimed The people of Oaxaca have won many of the APPO (the popular Assembly of street medics and ammunition factories. approached the Zocalo (heavily by various leftist groups but disowned great victories these past months the People of Oaxaca) a federal After six hours of fighting the police reinforced by the state for the day) by the APPO. despite their leaders - the time is organisation composed of were forced to withdraw, having made several hundred broke off towards it; On the 11th November the APPO coming that they will have to win them representatives from regions and barely any headway and suffered they were met by a row of APPO held a meeting to elect a ‘permanent against them. neighbourhoods of the city, as well as significant casualties. stewards, arm in arm, blocking the leadership’; we have seen these INEQUALITY IN THE UK NHS CRISIS (AGAIN) ritain’s top bosses are enjoying an Brendan Barber general secretary of any way? They aren’t the ones who espite axing 20,000 jobs, cutting having no coherent plan to solve the unprecedented pay bonanza under the TUC called the escalating pay gap produce the wealth.” services (particularly public health crisis in the NHS. As F reedom has B Labour. The earnings of FTSE “not just socially divisive but When the minimum wage was D programmes), shutting wards and reported, private sector companies company chief executives are currently economically divisive” noting that the increased over the summer - by the slashing staff training budgets, the NHS continue to make massive profits out of worth a staggering 98 times more than super rich are pushing up house prices princely sum of 30p an hour - the CBI is still heading for a £100 million over the NHS. Unison general secretary the wages of a typical worker Put another and distorting wage rise figures. winged that “many companies will spend this year. Hospitals and community David Prentis at a rally of health way, for every pound a worker gets their The bosses’ union, the CBI, struggle to absorb the increase”. Funny centres are snuggling to balance the books workers last month warned that private boss gets nearly a hundred according to attempted to justify the fat cat earnings that they can afford to pay six figure following last year’s £1 billion overspend. sector companies are taking over the the research commissioned by the TUC. arguing pathetically that companies had packages for those at the top but not a Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary NHS. The gap is two and a half times larger to offer ‘competitive packages’. The living wage for those at the bottom! of the Royal College of Nursing, said: Up and down the country people are than it was five years ago when chief CBI did not, however, seek to describe 2005 figures from the Office for “These figures confirm our worst fears. protesting against cuts and closures. executives earned 39 times as much as how it was that chief executives are National Statistics show that 1% of the They are clear proof that we need a Keep Our NHS Public report 25 full time employees. worth almost a hundred times what UK population owns 23% of UK long-term plan to tackle the deficits crisis separate campaigns. At last month’s Last year the total earnings of chief their workers are. wealth while the richest 10% own more as a matter of urgency. If not, services Anarchist Bookfair, libertarian health executives rose by a staggering 40% While, as Freedom reported last than half. The wealthiest 50% own will continue to be hit, jobs will workers, including Sol Fed and IWW fuelled by excessive bonuses and other month, the government and Bank of 94% of wealth. Statistics show that the continue to be lost and patients will members, met to discuss their response so-called ‘incentives’. Their basic pay England have been calling for workers wealthy have got wealthier over the last continue to pay the price.” to the growing crisis including taking rose two to three more than workers’. to exercise wage restraint nothing is ten years (Social Trends 35, Office for The number of hospitals reporting action against private companies and said about the bloated earnings of the National Statistics (2005), Table 5.25) deficits has increased - from 120 last developing links between health ISSN 0016-0504 very rich. Remember, that is declared wealth. year to 175 this - despite the workers. “It has never been more As one anarchist told F reedom “the The Office for National Statistics does government sending in so-called important for radical health workers to minimum wage is just £5.35 an hour. not know the correct figures on wealth ‘recovery units’, in reality hit squads, come together” an anarchist health Most workers will be luck to get a 4% as much of it is in investments. The many private sector consultants. worker said. “The unions aren’t really rise this year and if they do rising gains of ‘economic growth1 are not Redundancies will cost the NHS £70 interested in challenging Labour. They mortgage payments will eat that up. 'trickling down’, unsurprisingly given million this year. have done nothing to stop job losses.” The bosses though are rewarding them large disparities of power such wealth The government has been accused of For more information on the health workers I selves 40% increases. What do they do brings. plunging the NHS into chaos and of network contact: [email protected] Freedom 18th November 2006 2 Home and away Coronet Five not guilty The Crown Court case against five people arrested after last year’s Anarchist Book- fair concluded yesterday with the last of Around the world the defendants being found not guilty. One defendant was acquitted after testimony from his arressting officer And this week's reason America is "We are trying to keep truck treatment patriotic and sentimental value, it is not revealed that he had been arrested by in Iraq is ... alive, but there is hardly anybody at a national symbol. mistake. Two other defendants had their Karl Rove, the Republican’s major work,” he said. “Throughput is almost A judgement is due later this week. charges dropped down from Affray to election strategist, added yet another frozen.” Arguments will then begin over whether Section 4 of the Public Order Act* The reason to explain why American is in A proposal involving more flexible the case marks a precedent - or whether jury returned not guilty verdicts on the Iraq. Apparently, the US needs to work times is said to have been agreed it’s just a flash in the pan.

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