Ulises Ruiz
At the heart of the continuing conflict are attitudes towards the state's governor, Ulises Ruiz, a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party which governed Mexico for most of the 20th century, but which now is a minority in a nation where political power resides in 3 main parties. However, the main power struggle is between the rightist National Action Party and the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party, leaving the Institutional Revolutionary Party free to form coalitions with one of the two parties. Ruiz is a polemical figure whom opponents accuse of stealing his 2004 election, suppressing the freedom of the press, destruction of public spaces and historical monuments in the city, and repression of political opponents. Protestors argue that the constitution gives the central government the power under certain circumstances to remove a sitting governor; the Senate of the Republic, voted on the issue and decided that those "special circumstances" are not to be found in Oaxaca.
As the conflict in Oaxaca has grown more intractable, outside pressure on Ruiz to resign has grown, but he has not shown signs of budging. The senate has blamed both the governor and the APPO for the violence that originated in the state, while the business group Coparmex in the state of Puebla and the then Secretary of the Interior Carlos Abascal have called for his resignation or blamed him for the conflict. The APPO has made his resignation or removal their one non-negotiable demand before they will agree to end the conflict.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Oaxaca Protests