The march has ended peacefully

The march that started this morning was a success, tearing down the barricade set up at the point where the town ends and the hotel zone begins - but remaining peaceful.

When the march got to the barricade that cordons off the downtown of Cancun from the "hotel zone" that houses the WTO meeting, it remained peaceful.

A group of women approaced the fence and began to cut the red wire fences that are about ten feet tall. The police, dressed in riot gear, did not resist, but there were hundreds of police and a large grey truck with a water cannon behind the disintegrating barricade.

Organizers circulated throught the crowd, encouraging calm. After the barricades had been cut, a long line of people attached ropes to the barricades, while some protestors held back the crowd. Then the barricades came down when dozens of people, mainly from the Korean delegation, pulled on the ropes. The police stepped into the gap in the barricades.

Instead of mayhem breaking out, the demonstration stayed peaceful and calm. The protestors were urged to sit down by the organizers, and they did so. The point was made in Spanish, Korean, Japanese and Englisgh that the barricades had been torn down, and if they wanted to, the protestors could tear down the WTO.

There was a silent vigil for the Korean farmer Lee Kyung-hae, who had taken his life at these very barricades two days before. It was quite a sight to see hundreds of protestors and the media sitting in silence in the stifling heat, paying their respects to the fallen farmer.

The protestors stayed seated at the barricades, while the police stood their ground.

It was an impressive display of civil disobedience.