The one time to listen to Rumours

Well I promised to attempt to explain the situation here, not sure why i put this on myself because its super complicated but i´ll at least try. Maybe it will help, maybe'll have to clarify or completely change parts of this but if you have any questions let me know and i´ll try and figure it out!
Well for starters, currently, the city of Oaxaca is on a supposed commerical strike. It was supposed to be closing all stores for two days, thursday and friday. The effect it was supposed to have was to tell the government, State and Federal, that the business people are sick of all this because they are making no money. UNfortunately i dont think it will have the effect that was planned because not everything was closed yesterday, buses ran as normal and today, its the same thing except more stores are open. I havent been all over the city yet, but i´m sure theres a smattering of open places. So unfortunately, all the businesses are still losing money because locals arent going out as much, and there are very few tourists which usually bring in the most money. Its really quite sad because since I arrived restaurants and businesses have started to close and move away to other places to make money, be safer, and have their kids in school.
I say safer, not because we are living in a state of supreme anarchy, but there is a significant lack of police presence in the city now. The result has been more common theifs coming to Oaxaca from outside the city and state. Theres been robberies, and a few other incidients, and of course, peoples tires being stolen off their car while they're in a restaurant eating, but in general, i would disagree with the canadian consulate here. I had an interesting encounter with her on Monday. Its really too bad shes giving the reports to the Canadian government because she has a bit of a skewed opinion i think. But if you want to up to date on her report check out: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/sos/ci/cur-en.asp?txt_ID=798 . The facts that she says are true, and you do have to exercise discretion and caution, but pay attention to rumours and you´re okay.
For example, there have been rumours in the past few weeks that the Federal Police are going to come and clear everyone out thats protesting as a part of the APPO. There was this rumour last night and it never happened. Personally i dont think it will happen independent of a political change because it would only cause an escalation of events, not solve anything. But at the same time, noone knows what will happen, even those that are very informed. The reason for that is that its very tricky politically to solve this problem. Ulises Ruis, the governor that the APPO wants out of office, is being supported by all the mayors because they are all worried about what precedence this would set. But the APPO have said that they wont stop protesting until he is gone. UNfortunately the change over of Mexican Presidents is set to occur on NOv. 30th/ dec. 1st. The current president Fox has pledged to deal with the issues here before he leaves office and is under a lot of pressure from the President elect to do so, so he, Calderon, doesnt have to deal with it as his first order of business. the other tricky part is that if Ulises leaves before dec. 1st, the constitution says there has to be a special election which would probably result in a popular vote for the opposite party of Ulises, the state legislatures majority, and the Presidents. If he leaves after dec. 1st, the state legislature gets to appoint a new governor to finish out the rest of the 4 years remaining in his 6 year term. More than likely the apointee would be the same party as Ulises and therefore, won´t make the people happy because they all have the same politics. I dont really see how anyone can solve this politically, and if they try to use force, they dont have the resources and it will only enrage the already dramatic APPO. I guess only time can tell the rest of this story, and when it gets down to the end of November and nothing has happened it will be a very interesting time.
But just a quick reminder, i´ve never felt unsafe here in Oaxaca. We're rarely alone wandering unfamiliar streets. Its not as dramatic as the consulate or even the papers would lead you to believe. its easy to be aware of whats happening around you. I´ve sensed tension in the downtown areas at times, but i was never alone, and actually usually had either a mexican friend or a ProMéxico staffer with us so it was fine. Its really the one time in my life that its been smart to listen to rumours! You dont stick around to see the danger, listen to the rumours, your house family, staffers, friends, and still manage to have wicked times out and about. We even managed to close a bar this week, 3 am, the staff wanted to leave so we had to. You know what they say... When in México...!