Panic shopping in Mexico's Oaxaca as crisis deepens

OAXACA, Mexico, Sep 27 (Reuters) Hundreds of cars lined up at gas stations in the protest-torn Mexican city of Oaxaca as tensions rose before a 48-hour business shutdown expected to bring the tourist hot spot to a standstill.

Motorists and shoppers rushed to make last-minute purchases before gas stations, stores and shopping malls close today to pressure the federal government to end a four-month conflict between state Governer. Ulises Ruiz and protesters who want him to resign.

In recent weeks, gunmen suspected of being off-duty policemen have shot protesters manning blockades such as the ones around the the city's graceful central plaza. Five people have been killed in drive-by shootings and ambushes.

Ruiz, who his opponents say ordered the shootings, refuses to resign and wants federal police to end the protests, which have emptied the city center of tourists and left elegant buildings daubed with graffiti.

President Vicente Fox has vowed to end the crisis before he leaves office at the end of November but there is no sign he is pressuring Ruiz to step down and his government said force would be used only if talks failed. Human rights groups say Ruiz has ridden roughshod over his critics and used riot police to resolve political conflicts.

Stick-waving protesters reinforced street barricades yesterday and made Molotov cocktails in preparation for a possible police offensive.

Shoppers waiting in long lines outside a gas station said they were tired of the conflict.

''This has been going on for too long, it's time the federal government put an end to it,'' said salesman Armando Garcia in a line several hundred yards (metres) long to buy fuel.

The protests started with a teachers' strike over wages and against the governor. The teachers, who on Wednesday voted not to return to classes despite being threatened with the loss of their jobs, have been joined by left-wing groups opposed to Ruiz.

On Sunday, the US State Department extended for another month its warning against U.S. citizens traveling to Oaxaca, although Mexico insists there have been no problems for tourists.

REUTERS SAM PM1403