Oaxaca

From what i'd read, Oaxaca sounded quite dangerous. Strikes, political protests, imprisonment of anyone who opposed the government, whole villages wiped out by local government 'armies'.... Ok, so I did arrive in the middle of Mexican independence celebrations, so a generally more upbeat affair, but other than that, as a tourist you see NO sign of any of this stuff going on.

Apparently a female American activist was killed near Oaxaca last year. She was acting as a kind of human shield to local activists trying to improve the lives and rights of the indigenous populations nearby. The theory is that government-backed groups are less likely to knock off a foreigner because it creates an excess of paperwork in Mexico City and a little too much noise.

Not all of the strikes are what they seem either. A few years ago there was a strike of newspaper workers from Las Noticias. The rumour was that the people 'on strike' in the town square were not strikers at all, but people hired by the local government as a cover for the attempted close-down of the publication, which had been constantly critical of government policy.

As I said, none of this has any impact on general tourists to the area. It's a nice colonial town, pretty churches and buildings, lots of little markets....very lovely (see pictures below).

(sorry, am liking the car shots at the moment, this is less wobbly too!)