  We prove that for the class of three-colorable triangulations of a closed
oriented surface, the degree of a four-coloring modulo 12 is an invariant under
Kempe changes. We use this general result to prove that for all triangulations
T(3L,3M) of the torus with 3<= L <= M, there are at least two Kempe equivalence
classes. This result implies in particular that the Wang-Swendsen-Kotecky
algorithm for the zero-temperature 4-state Potts antiferromagnet on these
triangulations T(3L,3M) of the torus is not ergodic.
