This study examines the development and the socio-political context of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO: Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca), which emerged in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006. Since the Spanish colonial period, southe...
This study examines the development and the socio-political context of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO: Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca), which emerged in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006. Since the Spanish colonial period, southern Mexico, including Oaxaca, has been politically and economically marginalized. Following neoliberal reforms, this exclusion has exacerbated socio-economic inequalities, serving as a structural foundation for the long-term accumulation of social grievances.
While the federal transition of power in 2000 brought political changes, its impact did not sufficiently extend to the local level. As federal control weakened, the autonomy of local governors expanded, leading to intensified authoritarian rule and state violence in Oaxaca. Coupled with the political turmoil surrounding the 2006 presidential election, delayed federal intervention created a "political space" that allowed accumulated discontent to transform into collective action.
Against this political backdrop, APPO was formed based on the experience of "politics from below" and solidarity accumulated through the
1990s Zapatista (EZLN) uprising, the "500 Years of Resistance" discourse, and La Otra Campaña (The Other Campaign). In particular, the solidarity experienced in response to the state violence in Atenco in May 2006 served as a catalyst for social movement actors in Oaxaca to share
existing grievances and accelerate mobilization. This provided the groundwork for the rapid formation of APPO a month later.
Originating from the teachers' union, APPO evolved into a horizontal coalition comprising indigenous communities, the urban poor, and civil
society organizations, adopting assembly-based management, autonomy, and direct democracy as its core principles. Strategies such as the occupation of radio and television stations, the construction of barricades, mass marches, and international solidarity were crucial for the expansion and sustenance of the movement. Although the movement was physically suppressed by federal police intervention in November—just before the presidential inauguration—the political imagination and practices forged during this process have left a lasting impact on Oaxaca’s political landscape and subsequent Mexican social movements.