No letdown in Mexico protests

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 (Oaxaca):

Masked men shot a protester dead in the Mexican city of Oaxaca on Tuesday.

The incident escalated the wave of political violence and increasing pressure on President Vicente Fox to intervene.

A group of about 15 men in three cars, one with a logo of the city police department, drove up to a private radio station that has been occupied by protesters and sprayed gunfire at the building.

Protester Lorenzo Pablo, a 52-year-old architect, was hit several times and died in a hospital.

A short time later, masked men fired on the car of freelance photographer Luis Hernandez, who had been at the scene of the earlier shooting.
Hernandez was unharmed.

State prosecutor Lizbeth Cana said detectives would investigate the shootings, saying that the city was under siege from "urban guerrillas".

Pablo is the second protester this month to be killed in the city.

Earlier this month, a man was shot dead during a demonstration after arguing with a group of residents.

Thousands of protesters calling for the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz have occupied the Oaxaca city centre, stealing buses, setting up barricades and taking over radio and television stations to broadcast revolutionary messages.

Teachers throughout Oaxaca state are also continuing a three-month old strike, calling for a wage increase of about 20 per cent and supporting the demands for Ruiz's resignation. (AP)

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