Meantime… The unbelievable “teacher strike” continues in Oaxaca, land of mountains, delicious food, Zapatista rebels and screwed governance.

The strike has been on for more than half a year and the numbers are outrageous. For perspective: the civil rights march on Washington in 1963 drew a crowd of 250,000; the Oaxacan strike at its peaks is hitting a million protesters. The teachers there strike nearly every year as part of labor negotiations. This year, though, people from all over the state came out, across demographics, like 1968 Paris, like 1989 Tiananmen Square, saying No more oppressive Ulises Ruiz, governor of the state, saying Once he’s gone, how bout some real democracy in the form of fair elections, free press, public safety?

If a half-year full of a million protesters and a murdered American journalist can’t change something, then we’re doomed.

Here and here are some more amazing photos (pdf files) by Francisco Alvarado.