Union delegates representing 70,000 workers on Sunday decided to throw out a vote held the night before showing a majority of teachers wished to begin the school year, on hold since the protests began. Teachers will hold a new vote this week and announce the results Oct. 26, officials said after the all-night meeting in Oaxaca City.

The union´s failure to agree on when to return to work dashes hope that a solution to the conflict is likely without the resignation of the Gov. Ulises Ruiz. The decision to throw out the vote followed objections from teachers and community groups that union leader Enrique Rueda had failed to make the governor´s resignation a condition for returning to class.

DELICATE SITUATION

"The situation is very difficult because many teachers believe that if they return to class before the governor resigns they will be seen as traitors to the people," Alfredo Chiu, a spokesman for the Oaxaca teachers, said in an interview in Mexico City before the vote. "It´s a very tense situation."

Late Sunday, the Interior Secretariat released a statement urging teachers to go back to work to allow children in Oaxaca to return to school.

The Oaxaca conflict began as a teachers´ strike over pay and working conditions in May. The strike has since transformed into a broader movement comprised of a coalition of more than a dozen community groups known as the Oaxaca People´s Popular Assembly (APPO).

CHIEF DEMAND

The governor´s resignation became the group´s chief demand after police attempted to remove protesters by force from the Oaxaca City square on June 14, Flavio Sosa, a member of the group´s leadership council, said during a recent interview in Mexico City.

Outside the union meeting this weekend, protesters vowed to prevent teachers from returning to class before the governor steps down.

"The teachers asked the people for help and they cannot betray us now," said Rosario Cervantes, 45. "If they try to return to classes we will block them."

The Senate on Oct. 19 voted 74-31 to reject a proposal to declare the state government null in Oaxaca and force Ruiz out of office. Ruiz, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has refused to step down and has called on the federal government to use force to clear out blockades in Oaxaca City put in place by teachers and activists.

INCREASING VIOLENCE

Saturday night´s meeting by union officials followed a wave of increasing violence in Oaxaca City.

On Saturday more than a thousand protesters held a funeral march to Oaxaca City´s central square for a teacher shot and killed by unidentified gunmen on Oct. 18. As many as 11 people have died in the conflict that began in May, according to EL UNIVERSAL.

On Saturday, respected painter Francisco Toledo held a press conference in Oaxaca to say gunmen fired shots outside the window of his home. Holding empty shell cartridges in his hand, Toledo told reporters he had reported the incident and denounced the aggression.

AP contributed to this report.