Mexico: Boycott Call Heeded by Dissident Teachers and Activists

In the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Chiapas dissident teachers organized in the National Educational Workers Coordinating Committee (CNTE), supported by other social organizations, called for a boycott of yesterday's mid-term elections. Resentment against the political elite that dominate Mexican society, coupled with continual scandals involving corrupt politicians, impunity, and repression, along with opposition to recently enacted neoliberal reforms, all fueled the sentiment that voting would only strengthen the system. In Oaxaca, 216 of the state's 4,000 polling stations were destroyed, while abstentionism hit 61% and 7% of those who did vote annulled their ballots, a form of protest against the elections. Clayton Conn reports from Oaxaca. teleSUR