Mexico City, Mexico, Jun 22, 2016 / 23:28 pm
Archbishop José Luis Chavez Botello of Antequera-Oaxaca, México, called for intensifying prayer for peace after clashes between authorities and a teachers' union left at least seven dead and more than 50 injured.
Since June 11, the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico has held a series of demonstrations against the educational reforms undertaken by the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto. The protests included blocking highways connecting Mexico City and the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Chiapas and Guerrero.
The Oaxaca Department of Public Safety says that it deployed 800 officers on June 19. During the confrontation between demonstrators and authorities, at least seven people died and 51 were injured.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">México: Choques entre policías y maestros en Oaxaca se cobran la vida de al menos 6 personas <a href="https://t.co/8qTampBQa7">https://t.co/8qTampBQa7</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ry8CmbzpMM">pic.twitter.com/Ry8CmbzpMM</a></p>— RT en Español (@ActualidadRT) <a href="https://twitter.com/ActualidadRT/status/745027498124148736">June 20, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The authorities are blaming alleged infiltrators among the demonstrators, saying "civilians, so far unidentified, fired shots against elements of public safety and the civilian population."