Oaxaca University Occupied By Leftists

It seems that the big offensive against the leftists holed up in the university in Oaxaca failed. The Mexican forces were driven back when confronted with superior numbers and increased violence.

OAXACA, Mexico - Masked men patrol the gates, armed with bats and gasoline bombs, and barbed wire and booby traps defile the campus lawns. Since protesters took over the state university in Mexico's besieged Oaxaca City, there have been no classes, only talk of revolution.

The university of 30,000 students has become a stronghold for leftists trying to oust the Oaxaca state governor in a five-month-old conflict that has left at least nine people dead.

Demonstrators poured into the university last weekend after thousands of federal police pushed them out of the city's main plaza, where they had camped out since May. Federal police tried but failed to clear street barricades outside the university Thursday; they are not allowed to enter the campus under a law designed to protect academic freedom.

University Rector Francisco Martinez has made it clear that police were not welcome.

"We cannot consent for the campus to be an object of occupation," he said in a radio message Friday. "I want to ask the federal government to be sensitive in its solution to the problem."

Some critics say the university's autonomy law is protecting rebellion.

Federal police backed by armored vehicles and helicopters surrounded the university Thursday. Hundreds of protesters ran out, attacking with gasoline bombs, stones and fireworks stuffed with glass and nails.

Police fought back with batons, water canons, tear gas and even threw back some rocks. After a six-hour battle that injured more than 30 people, police retreated and protesters claimed victory.

As always, Mark in Mexico has more. This is a case where the leftist agenda simply does not care what damage it does to the city or the people living there.