Mexico governor under Senate fire

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6069020.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Mexico's Senate has criticised the governor of the troubled southern state Oaxaca for failing to bring five months of violent protests to an end.

But the Senate rejected protesters' demands for Ulises Ruiz to be sacked.

A teachers' union which has been on strike as part of the action against Mr Ruiz says it will now return to work, but will still demand his resignation.

Protesters accuse him of abuse of power and election fraud. Eight people have died in the unrest, mostly protesters.

'Little confidence'

On Thursday the Senate decided by a 74-31 vote that the state government had not ceased to function, the condition necessary to remove a governor from office.

However, the Senate recognised that conditions of "ungovernability" existed in Oaxaca.

Protesters have barricaded streets and occupied public buildings

A spokesman for the protesters told Reuters news agency that the Senate's decision had ended what "little confidence" the Oaxacan people had in the state's institutions.

The five-month-old conflict started with the teachers' strike but grew in scale as leftist and Indian groups joined the protest.

The Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (Appo) has overseen the protest. Demonstrators have barricaded streets and occupied public buildings and areas.

The teachers' strike has affected a total of 1.3m children.