Students from the Autonomous University of Benito Juarez in Oaxaca marched and rallied on Nov 22nd. Most of these particular students take classes in the UABJO building that is in the Zócalo. Their front door lines up with the PFP front line and check point. In between classes, the students can be found hanging out in front of the building. Besides thousands of police in riot gear, the street in front of their school also houses a Burger King, coffee shop, ice cream store, and a clothing store. Under normal circumstances, this would be a wonderful location for a school. However, especially with the recent allegations of the sexual assault of a woman by a PFP officer, the students feel that they can not attend school with safe conditions. Placing a table in front of the line of PFP, a woman stood above the crowd and spoke of her right to attend school at an autonomous university without the threat of sexual abuse. With the roar of a tractor and a tank, the woman yelled to be heard by the crowd. Many students watched the rally from the windows of their classrooms. I walked into a classroom to take a photo of the rally from a different perspective. What I realized is that these students have to take classes, pay attention to their teachers, and have critical debates while hundreds of officers and two tanks sit outside their window. The students claim that the PFP are impeding their right to take classes, and now I understand their complaint.
This reinforces my belief that a critical analysis of this situation requires an investigation of how it has affected the daily lives of different Oaxaquenos. Some people have been brought into this struggle because they feel they have no choice and that this is the time to fight for liberation. While others have not joined the struggle, or have dropped out, for reasons that are vital to the maintenance of their own daily lives. Neither can be dismissed as unimportant. The lives of these students have been affected by the presence of the PFP at their front door. Why some students join the movement to remove the PFP and others blame the APPO, is a question that requires further examination.
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