Indigenous Resident of San Blas, Oaxaca Arrested, but His People Win His Release

While Delegate Zero now tours the states of central Mexico, back in the autonomous municipality of San Blas Atempa, Oaxaca, Nicanor Salud Resgado, an indigenous man of 40, was unjustly imprisoned by the State Judicial Police on Sunday, February 19. A few hours later, hundreds of people mobilized and won his release. Let’s go now to the story… Among the many denunciations of attacks committed against the adherents to the Other Campaign of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN in its Spanish initials), today we focus on a message released by the residents of the autonomous municipality of San Blas Atempa, which has been circulating around the Internet since yesterday afternoon.

Oaxaca State Judicial Police officers detained Nicanor Salud Rasgado on February 19 in the city of Tehuantepec. According to the message from the community, “at the moment of his arrest the police planted a gun and marijuana among his clothes,” which they then used as a pretext for detaining him.

Salud is one of the 72 compañeros with an arrest warrant hanging over their heads due to the events of January 1, 2005, when the population, tired of the impositions of a local politician, stormed the San Blas town hall and began the process of building an autonomous municipality.

Fortunately, 500 people traveled to the town of Salina Cruz, where Nicanor Salud was being held, and after holding a protest there won Salud’s unconditional release. No charges were ultimately filed against him.

Finally, in a massive reception for the political prisoner-for-a-few-hours, the people of San Blas held an assembly in the town plaza and, at six o’clock that same afternoon, decided to “adhere” to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle (and, by extention, the Other Campaign) and to “persue the same ideals as the Zapatistas.”

We’ll keep on reporting, in case something new comes up… after all, you never know when some pot and a gun could turn up in the people’s clothes.