Americas News
Mexican government issues ultimatum to Oaxaca governor
By DPA
Nov 8, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Mexico City - Mexican Interior Minister Carlos Abascal issued an ultimatum on Tuesday to the governor of the troubled southern state of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz, demanding that he either prove he can govern or stand down from his post.

Ruiz's resignation has been at the centre of protestors' demands in a conflict that has already lasted five months and has led the deaths of at least 11 people.

'There are only two ways to solve (the conflict in Oaxaca). One is that the governor convinces these groups that he can re-establish a unity government pact, an agreement for the governability of his state, and he gets a vote of confidence,' Abascal said. 'Otherwise the governor has to take leave. I am saying there is nothing else.'

In May, teachers in the state went on strike with the support of the radical left-wing civic organization Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) and other groups. The teachers' strike has since been partially settled, but other protestors continue to accuse Ruiz of corruption and electoral fraud in a 2004 vote and are demanding among other things that the governor resign.

Mexican President Vicente Fox has sent federal police forces to the city in an attempt to restore order. The police have regained the city centre and encircled it with fencing and barbed wire, while protestors have set up camp at a local university campus.

The chairman of the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI), to which Ruiz belongs, was quick to criticise the minister's comments.

'This is a transgression of the federal order,' said Mariano Palacios, adding that the federal government has no power to appoint or remove governors.

Around 15,000 people demonstrated on Tuesday in support of Ruiz, organizers said.

On Sunday about 20,000 demonstrators protested against the presence of federal Mexican police in the troubled capital of Oaxaca, demanding of Ruiz's resignation.