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Ulises Ruiz Ortiz
Governor of Oaxaca
In office December 1, 2004 – November 30, 2010
Preceded by	José Murat
Succeeded by	Gabino Cué
Personal details
Born	(1958-04-09) April 9, 1958 (age 66) Chalcatongo, Oaxaca, Mexico
Political party	Institutional Revolutionary Party
Spouse	Lourdes Salinas
Education	UNAM
Profession	Lawyer

Ulises Ernesto Ruiz Ortiz (born April 9, 1958) is a Mexican politician and former governor of the State of Oaxaca. He took office in 2004 as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Early career

In the 1997 mid-term election he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies to represent the sixth district of Oaxaca.

Governor of Oaxaca

Ruiz Ortiz was accused by some of murder and rigging the 2004 election for the governorship. Therefore, many did not view him as the popularly elected governor of Oaxaca.

More controversies occurred during Ruiz's administration.

First, the newspaper Noticias de Oaxaca, which holds political views contrary to those of Ruiz, suffered a massive strike organized by the Confederación Revolucionaria de Obreros y Campesinos union, affiliated with Ruiz's PRI. Some media outlets, like Reforma viewed this action as a repression of free speech. The paper tried to publish out of the state, but distribution trucks were vandalized. The paper openly accused Ruiz of repression.

Other examples included the destruction caused by public works to the historic city center of the state capital. Some intellectuals called the destruction so appalling that they feared that UNESCO would retire the city's declaration as a World Heritage Site.

At the beginning of the 2006 Mexican general election campaign, Presidential candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador tried to campaign in one of the state's poorest municipalities in Guelatao, also the birthplace of Benito Juárez. The rally was obstructed by public works started only a day earlier by the state government.

2006 conflict

Since May 2006 (previous to the federal elections), Ruiz Ortiz's administration faced protests by striking teachers from Section 22 of the SNTE (the National Union of Teachers). Among other demands, the teachers demanded an economic reclassification for the state of Oaxaca, which would allow a raise in the salaries. Protesters sat in the city's main square until their demands were met. The protesters refused to meet with the government of Ruiz, insisting on meeting only with members of the federal government. On June 14, 2006, police were sent to remove the teachers forcibly from the square using gas bombs and rubber bullets. The strikers responded and managed to repel the police forces. After these actions, the teachers movement added to their demands the immediate resignation of the governor. The perceived repression used against the teachers ignited numerous protests from the people inside and outside of the state.

Numerous civil and political organizations joined the teachers movement, forming the APPO or Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca (Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca). The main petition of the APPO is the immediate resignation of Ulises Ruiz. Numerous popular protests demanding Ruiz's resignation took place all over the state. Government offices, public radio stations and public broadcasting systems have been taken over by the APPO. A legal petition was sent to the federal Congress to remove the governor.

Ruiz Ortiz has stated that he has no plans to resign. While initially not involved in the conflict, the Federal government has since sent a commission to help in the negotiations and has called for the governor to step down. On October 29, federal police were sent to occupy the city and have been involved in confrontations with the APPO throughout November.

Since the government offices have remained closed due to the protests, the governor has moved his office to a hotel.

In August 2006 the conflict became increasingly violent, with increased attacks aimed at terrorizing protesters. Armed groups have fired on popular protests, and on August 21 and 22 attacked radio stations held by the APPO. Ulises Ruiz's administration denies responsibility for these attacks.

On September 3, 2006, 193 delegates from different organizations which constitute the APPO (Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca) declared the governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) "proscrito" – banned, exiled, unwelcome – in the state of Oaxaca. The ex-governor will be replaced by a "proclamation of good government for the city of Oaxaca, a proclamation for the 570 municipalities, and a manifesto to the nation, declaring the banishment of Ruiz Ortiz from the government, and that the government will continue to be exercised from the historic center of the city of Oaxaca".

At least seventeen people have been killed in Oaxaca, almost of them by police or paramilitary forces allied with Ulises Ruiz Ortiz since the onset of the conflict, including US IndyMedia Journalist Bradley Roland Will. In response to recent deaths, Subcomandante Marcos of the EZLN has issued a statement from the Clandestine Indigenous Revolution Committee, claiming that the Federal Government caused these deaths to help Ruiz stay in power.

On November 6, 2006, the conflict escalated after five groups committed a series of small bombing attacks in Mexico City demanding Ruiz's resignation. The attacks consisted of three explosions in the PRI headquarters, the TEPJF main office, a branch of Scotiabank. Presumably, eight bombs were set and another Scotiabank branch was set to explode, as well as a Sanborns store, however these last two targets failed to explode. The Federal Government has stated that these acts are terrorist propaganda activities that seek to plant fear in the population, however it has also stated that the only possible solution is that Ruiz resigns his post in Oaxaca, or personally negotiates an end to the violence.

Later career

Ulises Ruiz handed over the governorship of Oaxaca to Gabino Cué Monteagudo of the opposition Convergencia party on 1 December 2010. He was arrested in Cancún on suspicion of embezzlement in 2014 and, in 2021, he was expelled from the PRI.

In September 2023, he filed paperwork with the National Electoral Institute enabling him to collect signatures for a possible run as an independent candidate for President of Mexico in the 2024 general election.

See also

• 2006 Oaxaca protests

References

1. "Legislatura 57" (PDF). Cámara de Diputados. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
2. Ruiz, Victor; Martinez, Fabiola (18 June 2005). "Croquistas estallan huelga en el periódico Noticias de Oaxaca". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 May 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
3. "Noticias, insumiso, pese a represiones". Noticias de Oaxaca (in Spanish). 16 January 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
4. "Pueden retirar a la ciudad la Declaratoria de UNESCO". Noticias de Oaxaca (in Spanish). 17 January 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
5. Perez, Jorge Ramos (22 January 2006). "AMLO asegura: conmigo no habrá "medicinas amargas"". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
6. "Madrugan al PRD; Va Ruiz a Oaxaca". Busquedas Gruporeforma (in Spanish).
7. "Mexico teachers clash with police". BBC News. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
8. "Mexico teachers extend protests". BBC News. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
9. Velez, Octavio; Mendez, Enrique (27 June 2006). "El gobierno y los profesores del SNTE reanudan el diálogo". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
10. Bellinghausen, Hermann (19 August 2006). "Desaparecer poderes en Oaxaca, exige la APPO al Congreso de la Unión". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
11. Morales Niño, César (28 July 2006). "Convierten hotel en sede de Poderes del Estado". Noticias de Oaxaca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
12. "Violence flares in south Mexico". BBC News. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
13. Davies, Nancy (7 September 2006). "Oaxaca's Popular Assembly "Expels" the State Government". Narco News. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
14. "Journalist dies in Mexico protest". BBC News. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
15. "La Otra Campaña en Colima invita a proyección, 13 y 15 de agosto". EZLN (in Spanish). 13 August 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
16. "Reivindica guerrilla los ataques; eran 8 bombas". El Universal (in Spanish). 7 November 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
17. "Bombazos, actos de propaganda: Medina Mora". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
18. "Ulises, logra pacto o pide licencia: Abascal". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
19. "PRI loses Oaxaca, takes PAN states". Mexico City: The News. July 5, 2010. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
20. "Prevé Nava alianza del PAN en Oaxaca el año próximo" (in Spanish). 1 August 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
21. Sacamontes, Reymalvo (28 December 2014). "Detienen en Cancún a Ulises Ruiz". Noticias Oaxaca NVI (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 April 2018.
22. "Expulsó el PRI a Ulises Ruiz y a Nallely Gutiérrez". La Jornada. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
23. "Tarjeta informativa: Recibe INE manifestación de intención de 27 aspirantes a candidaturas independientes para la Presidencia de la República". Instituto Nacional Electoral. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
24. "INE aprueba 6 candidaturas independientes, entre ellas la de Verástegui y la de Ulises Ruiz". Aristegui Noticias. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.

External links

• Riva Palacio, Raymundo (11 August 2006). "Suerte echada". El Universal (in Spanish).
• Velez, Octavio (15 August 2006). "En Oaxaca lanzan ultimátum para la liberación de maestros detenidos". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 March 2007.
• "Ulises Ruiz Ortiz: State Terrorist in Oaxaca, Mexico". ulisesruizasesino.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006.
• "Solidarity caravan in Oaxaca attacked by paramilitaries - deaths, injuries, disappeared". IndyMedia Ireland. 29 April 2010.

• Living people
• 1958 births
• Governors of Oaxaca
• Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians
• Politicians from Oaxaca
• Members of the Congress of Oaxaca
• Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)
• National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni
• 20th-century Mexican politicians
• Senators of the LVIII and LIX Legislatures of Mexico