At least three people were killed and dozens injured when police clashed with thousands of teachers blocking roads in a protest in southern Mexico on Sunday, leaving some officers with bullet wounds. / AFP PHOTO /
OAXA, Mexico (AFP) — At least three people were killed and dozens wounded when police clashed with thousands of teachers blocking roads in a protest in southern Mexico on Sunday, leaving three officers with bullet wounds.
Police launched tear gas to disperse the teachers and authorities denied reports that officers were wielding lethal weapons to break up the protest in Asuncion Nochixtlan, a town in Oaxaca state. Some vehicles were set on fire.
The National Education Workers Coordinator (CNTE) union has been leading protests in Oaxaca for days against an education reform and the arrest of two of its leaders.
“There are three people reported dead who have not been identified,” the Oaxaca health department said in a statement, adding that 45 people were wounded. The state health secretary earlier said 46 were hurt.
Paramedics said the three victims had bullet wounds. One was a minor and the other two were 23 and 28. The paramedics spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Many of the injured people were taken to the town’s church before being transferred to hospitals. Several are in “critical” condition, the government said.
The National Security Commission said in a statement that 21 federal police were wounded, including three hit by gunshots. It earlier reported that “several” officers were shot.
The commission said the officers were not carrying guns or truncheons, saying that pictures published by Mexican media showing police holding rifles and handguns were “completely false.”
“We know that the shots from firearms come from unknown people and unconnected to the blockades, who are firing against the population and the authorities to trigger clashes,” it said.
A municipal police officer, who requested anonymity, said a firebomb was thrown on the town’s municipal building. Another officer said more than 30 people were arrested.
The CNTE, considered a radical wing of a national union, denounced in a statement the “repressive action of the federal and state governments.”
The union said the number of casualties was unknown “due to the serious conditions of the police evacuation.”
Other, less intense clashes took place in at least two other towns.
Protesters also gathered in the city of Oaxaca, the state capital, where police began to remove dissident teachers from the central plaza.
The CNTE has staunchly opposed President Enrique Pena Nieto’s education reform, which requires teachers to undergo performance evaluations.
The union has also been protesting last weekend’s arrest of the leader of its Section 22 in Oaxaca, Ruben Nunez, and his deputy, Francisco Villalobos. Nunez faces money laundering charges, while Villalobos has been accused of stealing textbooks.
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