Auckland demo in solidarity with Oaxaca

Today a small but vocal crowd held a demonstration in solidarity with the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), who are currently being brutally repressed by Mexican Military Police and right-wing death squads.

We assembled in Aotea Square where there were some speeches about state repression in Mexico and the destructive neo-liberal economic policies being forced on the nation by the US.

Then we marched down Queen Street to the Mexican Consulate on Shortland Street chanting "Viva Oaxaca! Stop the war in Mexico!". A member of the public on Queen St with a kiwi siliver fern flag then joined our march too. Was good to have new people along.

Once we got to the Lumley Centre (where the Consulate is housed) a rather stuffy white man at the front desk wouldn't let us go up to the Consulate to deliver a letter because we were a "protest". A few people went to the lifts anyway but got a bit confused as to where to go so came back down. A much friendlier staff member then said he would try to contact the Mexican Consular and tell him to come down to the lobby to meet us. After waiting around for about 15 minutes the staff member then informed us that the Consular was in London but he would take our letter up to the Consulate for the Consular to receive when he returned.

While standing around in the Lumley Centre lobby with our banners a few suited people (probably employed in the law offices in the building or some other white collar job) came and talked with us. After noticing one demonstrator carrying a EZLN flag several asked "is this something to do with the Zapatistas?". Another told us he had once visited Oaxaca and was interested to find out what was happening there now. Was quite a different experience from other protests I've been on to have suits seeming pretty sympathetic to the cause.

Related

http://indymedia.org.nz/feature/display/71599/index.php