Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala

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The Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala is an entity made up of Trique Indians who declared their autonomy of the Mexican state in 2006 as a reaction to repression by the Mexican state, especially the Oaxacan government, [1] whose leader Ulises Ruiz was targeted by the APPO movement at the time. The move is inspired by the Zapatista Movement in neighbouring Chiapas. It has since been the target of violent attacks by the local paramilitary groups UBISORT and MULT [2] which are related to the PRI, the party of Ulises Ruiz. [3]

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Copala may refer to:

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San Juan Copala is a town in the municipality of Santiago Juxtlahuaca in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located at 17°11′14″N97°57′46″W, at an altitude of 1578 meters above sea level. According to the 2005 census, carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, San Juan Copala has a total of 786 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples of Oaxaca</span>

The Indigenous people of Oaxaca are descendants of the inhabitants of what is now the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, who were present before the Spanish invasion. Several cultures flourished in the ancient region of Oaxaca from as far back as 2000 BC, of whom the Zapotecs and Mixtecs were perhaps the most advanced, with complex social organization and sophisticated arts.

Events in the year 1954 in Mexico.

The Movement for Triqui Autonomy is the struggle for independence of the Triqui people, who live in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Once based in town of San Juan Copala, they are now largely a diaspora due to the ongoing conflict in the region. In 1975, an Indigenous movement known as the club was formed with the goals of "agrarian conflict resolution, the defense of human rights, and the formation of cooperatives that would market regional products." Not long after it was created, the club's leaders were killed and in 1978 the government introduced a military presence in San Juan Copala. The conflict culminated in 2006 with the clash between the state of Oaxaca, led by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the indigenous autonomy movement, led by the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO). APPO was formed in June 2006 during the teacher strikes as an alliance to oppose Oaxacan Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. The attacks have since been stepped up in order to quash the autonomy movement and return control over the land to the government.

References

  1. López Bárcenas, Francisco (10 Jan 2007). "The autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala (Oaxaca)". Narco News Bulletin.
  2. México: La guerra contra los triquis, Francisco López Bárcenas, La Jornada, 10-12-2009, "KAOSENLARED.NET -- México: La guerra contra los triquis". Archived from the original on 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  3. Davies, Nancy (17 May 2010). "Oaxaca: The Ongoing Extermination of San Juan Copala's Autonomous Triquis". Upsidedownworld.org.