A week of strikes

Last week was a week of strikes in Oaxaca. This isn't unusual in the city of Oaxaca but last week seemed to be excessive.

The teachers were on strike. They strike every June for higher salaries, better working conditions, etc. They camp out in the city square and block entrances to stores, roads leading out of town, etc.

The garbage dump workers were on strike so there was no garbage pick up. Things got pretty "stinky" around town.

The people in one neighborhood didn't like the fact that the city was putting up a stoplight and therefore they blocked the intersection for several hours.

It was the week before elections so each political party had a roving blockade where they would block an intersection and plaster political posters over everything. When finished, they would move on the the next intersection. We had some excitement because of this strike--we got through an intersection seconds before it was closed off.

The state university was closed for several days because the maintenance people were on strike.

And so it went...on and on. I've learned to be patient and not to get annoyed if I don't get where I think I should be when I should be there. We left the city of Oaxaca on Saturday to avoid any problems with election day on Sunday and returned yesterday to a city free of strikes, calm and peaceful--except for the thunderstorm that washed away all the reminders of the week before.