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Murder In Oaxaca (PDF 4.26 MB) Print Write a review Email this page		Mexico Unconquered Chronicles of Power and Revolt John Gibler Paperback - $16.95 $11.87 Save $5.08 (30%) Temporarily unavailable Notify me Description Reviews In the News Extras Detailed info Reader Reviews Reader comment | Oct 13, 2011, David I picked this book up from City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco over a year ago. It was shelved for awhile and then started to read the book this summer. I didn't get too far since I knew about the historical basis that opened the book which didn't interest me. I shelved it for a few months then decided to finish what I started. Well I couldn't put it down. The historical introduction lays out his theory but once past this, the stories he told both mesmerized and horrified me. As...more a frequent traveller to Mexico, reading the "dirt" was not fun to do but importnat to know about. Case in point. In December 2008 we got a super cheap deal to spend a week in Huatulco, Oaxaca and had a great time. We rented a car and despite the odd military checkpoint (we have been stopped on other trips), we visited a local town and a nearby coffee farm. Despite the odd travel issues (we almost ran out of gas coming back from the coffee farm) we had a great time and found the people warm and friendly and very poor. After reading Gibler's section on the Oaxacan Uprising, some issues became apparent. The cheap deal was offered to lure the tourists back after the Upraising in 2007. The people remain poor (one of the poorest in Mexico) but the numerous checkpoints were there because of the crackdown on the state to maintain security for the tourists but to keep the people in check. We were oblivious to what brews below the surface and they were always so grateful when we bought something or tipped our guide a 100 pesos (a week's wages). We love Mexico and will return despite the violence. Gibler spent a few years on the ground seeing and talking with people from many regions. What Gibler spells out magnificently in his section on the Zapatista Revolution, the Mexicans who cross to the United States and the interview with the guerrilla in prison is that Mexico keeps oppressing the poor and the indigenous peoples while capitalism works for the rich and rarely trickles down. The violence inherited from the Mexican Revolution seems entrenched in the army and the politicians. He believes change is needed but it needs to change at the top more than at the bottom - the poor already seem to be involved with this process through the various uprisings. For those who travel frequently to Mexico, this book should be required reading. Reader comment | Aug 25, 2009, Amber Join the conversation!