Beauty, Beasts, and Burlas Imagery of Resistance in Southern Mexico

The importance of iconography as an art of resistance in contemporary social movements was manifested in the 2006 strike by members of Oaxaca's Local 22 of Mexico's National Union of Education Workers. Striking teachers used iconography that incorporated irony, poignant images, and cultural icons such as La Tehuana in presenting their demands for salary increments and a change in government. Ethnographic data collected in Oaxaca since 2006 allow an exploration of the various interpretations of these images. The images were an important visual component of the action, and there is little question that they stirred emotions in viewers, dividing public opinion between those who supported the movement and those who criticized the teachers for hurting Oaxaca's children and the state's economy.