Oaxaca.

On May 22, 2006 striking teachers occupied the town square of Oaxaca, Mexico with protest camps demanding a greater education budget for Oaxaca. The teachers belong to Section 22, a democratic local of the National Union of Education Workers that has held annual protest camps in Oaxaca for the past 26 years. This year, however, three thousand state police attacked the teachers' encampment, fired tear gas from helicopters and beat teachers. Supporters of the teachers retook the town square and expelled the police. Two months later, on June 17, the teachers' union, along with 85 other social, political and human rights organizations formed the Oaxacan Peoples' Popular Assembly (APPO), which has now grown into a nationwide organization. For more complete information, read "Mexico on the Brink" (leftturn, Jan/Feb 2007); "Oaxaca's Dangerous Teachers" (Dollars & Sense, Sept/Oct 2006); "Flyovers Put APPO On Alert" (Miami Herald, October 1, 2006); or for websites, go to "The Dirty War in Oaxaca" (http://elenemigocomun. net/622); "Acclaimed Muralist Among Oaxaca's Disappeared" (http://elenemigocomun, net/621); or "Rights Activists held in Oaxaca prison" (http://elenemigocomun.net/618); or view the film Granito de Arena (Corrugated Films).