Any hope that Oaxacans held that the PFP would serve as peacekeeping troops has been shattered. The city is quite clearly under siege. In the center, thick clouds of black smoke hung heavy in the air as the APPO burned the buses that the PFP had arrived in, attempting to prevent helicopters from seeing well or landing or to prevent PFP from passing. In fact, the entire city seemed to be burning; there was thick smoke visible all over the hills.

The center of Oaxaca City transformed into a nightmare yesterday afternoon. Each block closer to the Zocalo was a new war zone, a level deeper into the maze. Billowing storms of black smoke filled the streets from the burning carcasses of buses serving as barricades. Turning a corner meant suddenly coming face to face with impenetrable lines of federal police in full black riot gear, the stinging scent of tear gas thick in the air. Their gas masks, helmets and shields made them look something like mutated life size cockroaches rather than human beings. The people seemed fearless, thin bandanas tied around their mouths and noses they stood with poles, rocks and Mexican flags shouting centimeters away from the never-ending swarms of black helmets. From all directions their compañeros ran to meet them, parking signs and wooden planks in hand. Dull yellow bulldozers could be seen rattling in the distance behind the troops. As the sun set, parts of the center became eerily abandoned except for the charred skeletons of vehicle barricades. The ground was soft with ash. The next block over was invisible through all of the dark grey smoke. Bright headlights could be seen creeping through the smoke and the voices chanting sounded far away like ghosts.

In the afternoon, Channel 9 was attacked. The state television station, Channel 9 was occupied by 2000 women of the social movement on August 1 and, until August 21 when it was attacked by priistas and all equipment was destroyed, it served as a key voice for the social movement in Oaxaca . Teachers and APPO supporters have continued to guard it with barricades in the hopes that they would be able to repair the damage and broadcast again. The barricades were also an attempt to prevent the state government from doing the same. During the attack, one nurse, one teacher, and one 12 year old boy died, and more were detained or disappeared. The death toll for yesterday, October 29 th has yet to be determined, given the number of disappeared. According to the Jornada, over 50 people were arrested, many from their homes.

At 7pm , the transmission of Radio Universidad was cut - the fear of everyone supporting the movement. In the hills on the other side of the city, we could hear the unified shouting: "¡Fuera! ¡Fuera! ¡Fuera!" (Out Ulises!) at one of the barricades. Individual supporters whistled to each other to the rhythm of the famous chants "ya cayó, ya cayó, Ulises ya cayó" (Ulises has fallen) and "el pueblo unido jamás será vencido" (the people united will never be defeated).

The radio came back on within a half hour, reporting that the electricity had been cut, and there had been damage to the some of the lines. They demanded that the Federal Commission for Electricity repair the damage and not be complicit in the repression.

Early this morning, many of the callers on the radio were women, calling in to ask about their family members who have disappeared. A grandmother called lamenting the murder of her son-in-law and her two orphaned grandchildren. Another woman, holding back tears as she reported that her parents who have been at the Channel 9 barricade all along disappeared last night.

The radio continues to announce the highest of red alerts. The entire university campus is now surrounded by federal police and helicopters fly over the radio installations. They call for people to reinforce the barricade and for the government to respect the autonomy of the university.