Violent clashes between police and unionized teachers who were blockading roads and burning vehicles in southern Mexico left at least four people dead on Sunday, according to union and state officials.
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The radical union is opposed to the mandatory testing of teachers as part of the government’s sweeping education reform and is also protesting the arrest of union leaders on money laundering and other charges.
As well as confirming the death toll at six, the later statement said 53 civilians were injured, as well as 55 federal police officers, eight of them with bullet wounds.
Oaxaca’s governor, Gabino Cué said the blockades had hindered the delivery of vital goods to the state.
More than 100 people were wounded before police pulled back, Galindo said, adding that “staying in Nochixtlan would have brought more serious consequences”. “Personnel were unarmed and without truncheons”, it said in an official statement.
Some members of the CNTE said a group that infiltrated their ranks was responsible for the gunfire. That’s why radical activists from CNTE union have been blocking roads in southern Mexico.
Enrique Galindo, the head of Mexico’s federal police, said masked individuals who were not affiliated to the teachers’ union were behind much of the violence, lobbing Molotov cocktails and shooting at police and civilians.
The state-owned oil company, Pemex, warned on Friday that it might be forced to close a refinery in the area if the highway linking Oaxaca to the capital, Mexico City, remained blocked. Garbage sat in heaps around the perimeter, and the cafes that surround the square and would normally be packed with tourists were empty.
Ramos Zarate had reportedly been taking pictures of some looters taking advantage of the protests in Juchitan to clean out store shelves. The Associated Press also reported that its journalists saw riot police firing on protesters.
Ten years ago, the teachers started a six-month takeover of Oaxaca that didn’t end until police stormed the barricades.
Mexico’s education reform aims to wrest control over struggling schools from unions that have often had sole power over hiring, firing, promotions and budgets.
The CNTE has led efforts to resist federal education reforms, particularly its mandate to carry out teacher evaluations.
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The latest wave of protests in Oaxaca picked up steam after authorities arrested several leaders of a division of the national teacher’s union, one of the most powerful and well-known organizations in Mexico.
