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OAXACA, Mexico (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets of Mexico's embattled southern city of Oaxaca on Monday, demanding the resignation of a state governor and briefly taking two men hostage.
The protesters said the two men were soldiers who had arrested a protest support earlier Monday. The two, whose identities were not immediately confirmed by authorities, were freed hours later after the supporter reappeared. Monday's demonstration coincided with the opening of the Guelaguetza folk culture festival, a major attraction for Oaxaca's tourism industry. Tourism, a major part of the local economy, has been badly damaged by the unrest that began in June 2006, when demonstrators seized and held Oaxaca's main plaza, and much of the city. Twelve people were killed, mostly protesters shot by gunmen, during last year's protests before federal police retook the city in October. Monday's demonstrators reiterated their long-standing demand for the resignation of Oaxaca state Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whom they accuse of using excessive force against opponents of his administration. On Monday, Ruiz was at an open-air theater to inaugurate the Guelaguetza festival, which had to be canceled last year due to wave of protests. Monday's protesters were also urging a boycott of this year's festival.
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