was based on the teachings of liberation theology. Bishop Arturo Lona was a strong supporter of the teachings of Vatican II calling for the creation of a "people’s church". The Oaxaca church was allied with Diocese of Chiapas under Bishop Samuel Ruiz. The pastoral style of these Oaxacan and Chiapas churches came to be known as the "pastoral indígena" or indigenous pastoral and was focused explicitly on working with the most marginalized segments of society. He instituted a health clinic just outside the city of Tehuantepec basic hospital facilities and the promotion of natural medicine with the training of local healers called curanderos. There is also an ecological center on the same site promoting recycling and organic fertilizer for the area's agriculture. During the 1980s, the diocese faced violence by regional power-holders, with two serious assassination attempts in the years before Lona's retirement. The goal of these groups was to suppress further political activism similar to the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas. Attacks against Lona and allies continued into the 1990s. Liberation theology remained center of the diocese while Lona remained bishop although it lost power in the 1990s as the country moved towards neoliberal policies as well as the Church's own gradual abandonment of liberation theology. Arturo Lona Reyes was one of the last of church leaders aligned with Liberation Theology. The retirement of Bishop Arturo Lona Reyes drew about four thousand people, mostly native Zapotecs and Mixes. His work was recognized by the Archbishop of Oaxaca over 29 years in Tehuantepec. Lona Reyes retired from the official post but remained head of a religious group called the Iglesia Universal. The bishop stated that his "Opción por los Pobres" (Choice for the Poor) program which he heads would remain intact after he hands his resignation to the Vatican. In the "Church of the People" the offering consist of food and gifts brought by hundreds of indigenous. The bishop's sermons often contained references to those "excluded from the system," "community cooperatives" and "human rights." The current bishop of Tehuantepec is Oscar Armando Campos Cantreras. The rail line that had been the source of Tehuantepec's boom in the early 20th century steadily declined over the remainder of the century. It and the rest in the country were privatized in 2001, but the 24 km nearest the city has become virtually abandoned with workstations dismantled and equipment sold off. This put a final