OAXACA, Mexico (Reuters) - Thousands of Mexican police firing tear gas fought a running battle with striking teachers in a southern city on Wednesday in the latest violence between protesters and security forces before July elections.UPDATE...Democracy Now! reports 11 people dead:.mp3 of today's show (41:12)Watch and read here.UPDATE...As I reported earlier (here and here), I was in Oaxaca, Mexico recently and experienced a few days of the annual teachers' strike (it's even mentioned in Frommer's Mexico 2006 guidebook). I've posted video and a podcast. I found the strike fascinating--not at all threatening or annoying. I understand the annoyance of local merchants whose store fronts get blocked by tents, tarps, and the scattered debris of urban camping. But the police response appears to have nothing to do with local annoyance. The bulk of the reporting so far credits tensions arising from the 2 July presidential election.American ex-pat George Salzman reports from Oaxaca on 8 June, two days after I left.Prensa Latina offers some political context on 12 June:The Union is now organizing a third march in Oaxaca and a drive to collect one million signatures to ask Congress to impeach the governor.REUTERS/Jorge Luis PlataBlanca HernándezThe public square in the center is the Zócalo. Much of the area in this image has been clogged with striking teachers since late May.Other sources of information:Narco News BulletinIndymedia UKNarcosphereanarkismo.netLa Jornada

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