The women of Loxicha have been encamped under the eaves of the Governor's palace in Oaxaca for over three years. They demand the release of their sons, husbands and brothers from various jails and prisons throughout Mexico, incarcerated as suspected members of the guerrilla EPR, the Popular Revolutionary Army.

Loxicha (pronounced low-see-cha) is a poor region near the southern coast of Oaxaca. The only paved road in the region is to Pochutla, on the highway from Oaxaca city to the coast. Seven of the area's 32 municipalities have electricity. Medical care is difficult to non-existent as is potable water. Spanish is a second language to many of region's Zapotec people. They live by farming, corn, beans and coffee. Since 1996, Loxicha has been the site of low intensity warfare conducted by the Army, State and Federal Police forces and militia's, headed by notorious pistoleros, the hired guns of the caciques, local political bosses/landowners. The Latin American Federation of Associations for the Detainees and Disappeared has called Loxicha the most militarized and repressed zone the country.

Eighty-six men of Loxicha, are being held in jails in Oaxaca and Almoya maximum security prison in Mexico State. The prisoners comprise virtually what was the entire municipal government of San Augustin Loxicha, the main town. Several are teachers. One hundred thirty-seven men were arrested initially, 51 being released for absence of any evidence of involvement with the guerrillas. The encamped women, in their third anniversary statement, point to the mass releases as evidence of the false nature of the arrests in the first place. They deny any contact with the EPR whatsoever. They say the Caciques and their allies in the government are using the anti-guerrilla campaign as a pretext to eliminate political opposition.

The women and their children cook and sleep in their encampment along the south edge of Oaxaca's central square. They sell baskets woven by the imprisoned men to tourists. The children solicit donations in the square. About 30 women and 20 children are in the encampment at any one time. They stay for varying lengths, traveling by bus between Loxicha and Oaxaca city. Some stay for months at a time.

In 1978, the people of Loxicha expelled the cacique families. This followed years of cheating the coffee workers from their wages, misappropriations from the public treasuries, intimidation and murders. Oaxaca, like neighboring Guerrero to the northeast and Chiapas to the southwest has a long tradition of indigenous activism, and constitutional guarantees for traditional political decision making. The people of Loxicha stripped the caciques' authority and reclaimed a bit of political autonomy. The caciques made inroads over time, but stayed largely gone until 1996.

In the meantime, Mexico underwent cataclysmic changes. The Zapatista uprising inspired social struggle on all fronts, including awakening several other guerrilla armies. The EPR is one of these. This army hit the public eye in 1996, at the one year anniversary of the massacre of Aguas Blancas. In 1995, Guerrero state police had without warning, opened fire on protesting farmers, killing 17 and wounding 23 people. Police put weapons into the hands of the dead and showed doctored video footage. Eventually the real footage appeared, corroborating reports of a police ambush.

Marching into the anniversary ceremony, the uniformed guerrillas initially frightening the participants who thought they were from the Mexican army. Not the army, the EPR declared themselves "companeros," and hoisted an EPR flag. They placed white flowers on the memorial and read their "Declaration of Aguas Blancas."

A series of strikes around Guerrero was followed on August 28, 1996 by coordinated attacks against police forces, and Federal Electricity Commission installations in 6 states. Among these was an assault on police barracks in Acapulco and Huatulco, Oaxaca, a developing resort much touted by the Mexican Government.

The EPR became a high priority item for Mexican law enforcement and the military. It also seems to have become tangled up in a political reckoning, Oaxaca style. When the military and the Federales invaded Loxicha on September 5th, 1996 several once expelled pistoleros were among them, dressed in Federal Police uniforms, pointing out who should be taken away.

The prisoners were reportedly tortured. Mexican government reports indicate that torture is common in Oaxaca and other states. One prisoner described being tortured as men in FBI caps stood by. The FBI explained that FBI agents had probably exchanged caps with Mexican Federal Police agents during a recent training encounter. Other witnesses describe the FBI cap wearers as "not speaking Spanish well."

There was a US interest involved, at least peripherally. More than a dozen US timber companies were preparing for a NAFTA inspired build up. Boise Cascade through its Mexican subsidiary, Costa Grande, had begun logging operations in Guerrero. They were also reported as owning timber properties in Oaxaca as well. Wide scale logging was a key issue in the farmer's protest movement that the EPR endorses. Boise Cascade has since ceased all operations in Mexico and liquidated its assets there. The company's web site says that Boise ceased operations in Mexico for reasons other than local opposition. They claim to have found out about the guerrillas only after the fact, by reading the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the Mexican army has bases in four of the towns in Loxicha and regularly patrol the region. Federal and state militarized police have a heavy presence. Foreign visitors require a special visa to venture past Pochutla. Visiting human rights groups have been routinely harassed by the army and threatened and attacked by militias. The state governor said that he cannot guarantee the safety of any groups visiting Loxicha. Farmers are afraid to take their crops to town for fear of running afoul of the authorities. Loxicha is out of the limelight under siege.

And the women of Loxicha remain encamped, pressing their case, not only for the release of the prisoners, but also for the demilitarization of Loxicha and improvement of the infrastructure.