Patricia Mayorga Proceso (3-23-13)
Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat
In an appearance by phone, she explained to her book's presenters and the audience at the Republican Loyalty Museum that the Federal District (DF) authorities had referred her case to the Office of Attorney General (PGR: Procuraduria General de la Republica).
Agents of the PGR are the same people who have threatened her, so they cannot guarantee her safety, said Hernandez, and she stated that international entities such as the French government, have interceded so that the DF government will continue to provide bodyguards.
The journalist reproached the government for not guaranteeing the safety of journalists or that of all citizens, because it doesn't care about them.
Also, she recalled other journalists like Ana Lilia Perez and Lydia Cacho have also had to leave the country. In Ana Lilia's case, she went into exile in Germany and Cacho has had to leave Mexico constantly.
Hernandez also spoke about the government of ex-president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa:
"It has been three months since he left power and we are dealing with a legacy of violence, of organized crime, there is a pitched battle, Chihuahua is living through it. And it shows: there's retail drug sales, kidnappings, extortion, there's violence throughout the border."
She pointed out that Enrique Pena Nieto has not offered an analysis of the country's status, how Felipe Calderon Hinojosa left it; neither does (Pena Nieto) say how many cartels there are, what kinds of arrangements they have, what is his plan of action.
That "is serious because we need to know; Felipe Calderon is not held accountable, that's why he is able to smile at us from Harvard. He (Pena Nieto) does not explain how he's going to change this. Neither do we know the Sinaloa Cartel's situation that has provoked the fury of the drug cartels and triggered the violence; Who's going to inform us?" she asked.
She said that the commitment from the press is strong in the face of the vacuum that the government is (surreptitiously) promoting and the impunity that prevails.
"Enrique Pena Nieto, as governor of the State of Mexico, denied the presence of criminal organizations, he tried to cover up the violence and today we have the State of Mexico in flames," the journalist declared.
Because of this situation, she believes that reliable and timely information is required, and she called for the citizenry to be aware of the seriousness of attacks and murders committed against journalists, because this is not just about the death of a person, but a violation of the right of society to be informed.
"We need to remain strong," she said.
The vicar general of the Cuauhtemoc-Madera Diocese and the book's presenter, Camilo Daniel Perez, said that the country's situation is not because of a failed State, it's not even because of a lazy and corrupt State, but because of a criminal State.
"The book is a witness, clear, striking of the children of corruption and the complicity of high government officials, at all levels, that are responsible for creating a Mexico in flames. Anabel says there has always been corruption; the authorities had entered into agreements with the cartels, who paid so that they would respect boundaries... the lords of the narco are politicians and businessmen," he explained.
Perez emphasized the legacy that Calderon left the country, from Anabel's point of view: the infinite power of drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera, El Chapo, who is untouchable; unpunished murders and the victims of the so-called war against drug trafficking; the destruction of the National Action Party (PAN: Partido Accion Nacional); the country controlled by crime, and the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI: Partido Revolucionario Institucional) to Los Pinos (the Presidency).
The priest summed up the book's six chapters that assert that Calderon Hinojosa will be remembered as the president of extermination. "From the religious point of view, for me, he was a profoundly fundamentalist person, with an iron ethic about some things and lax in others."
Most worrisome in the book, he stresses, is the content of Chapter 6, which "talks about mercenaries, of smaller criminal organizations that do not belong to any cartel, but hire themselves out to the highest bidder: criminal organizations, businessmen, private parties, politicians-- it is the worst legacy."
Antonio Villegas Flores, coordinator of the "Discussion Circle" and organizer of the event, stated that they had presented Anabel Hernandez's book in Puebla, Queretaro and the Federal District (DF), and they had to cancel in Xalapa because they cannot travel on the highways because of the danger.
El Lllano En Llamas is a great book by Juan Rulfo...so her books name is similar. Sometimes I think of some of the great literature in Mexico and compare it with what goes on now.
ReplyDeleteThe truth for once,the whole mexican system is corrupt....all of it,there may be few pockets of honest men but not enough to stop corruption.
ReplyDeleteThis "journalist" only writes what she feels is good for the leftists in Mexico, most of her work is based on assumptions and/or she writes half thruths. She almost never can prove what she writes but since she supports Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador his followers buy her books and claim what she says it true. She just wants attention.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Calderon attacked,even now he is the target of critical B/S, Nieto the PRI darling,give me a break, SHOW ME what the new wonder boy can or will do NOTHING thats what. Mexicans Nationally have proven themselves to LACK a National WILL to Morph Mexico into a Honest FUNCTIONING State,so Mexico will remain as a IMMORAL PANDERING PARICITE of the USA.
ReplyDeleteMexico IS going to become a narco state.
ReplyDeleteThat's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!!!
As for as the cartels, they will kill each other till eternity.
Because as long as the drug profits are good, there'll be people around killing each other for them!
Accept this simple truth!!!
Hernandez bugs me. She is on this big campaign to make Calderon a Villain but one wonders is she is paid off. Very brave of her to back out of Chih...news flash Hernandez:
ReplyDeletewhen you set your date to go to Chih and promote yet another book Chih lacked security then, everyone knows that. This is nothing but a PR stunt to promote the book. I for one am sick of her and her tirade against Calderon. Death numbers are up and now we can't see any organized crime news in publication, yes Anabel we are doing so much better now that Calderon is gone.
@6:55pm how can she produce proof when they all cover each other's asses,there is just too much corruption.
ReplyDeleteOf course she´s paid, just think about this for a moment, who wins more with people thinking Calderon is with Chapo? If Calderon is hitting the cartels and his party will follow suit, who wins if people start questioning Calderon´s war? THE DAMN NARCOS. Why hasn´t she been executed? it´s not that difficult, just like many more REAL journalists out there, the reason she has not been killed is quite simple, she is more useful alive than dead
ReplyDeleteSo you are saying that the one thing the cartels agree on is that this lady is more useful alive. Get a grip.
DeleteShe is just trying to make a living as a writer. Hype sells books. I hope she doesn't go back to Mexico though.
ReplyDeleteAnabel Hernandez is an incredibly brave woman, but knowing that the government of Cesar Duarte is absolutely corrupt, I'm surprised she would visit Chihuahua without private security.
ReplyDeleteHer criticism of Calderon is completely justified. He left Mexico far less secure than when he arrived, and he did little to prosecute the murders, even the one's not perpetrated by his own military. With the sheer number of murders, it seems implausible that the Calderon government wouldn't have at least tripped over some of the killers, simply by accident.
Instead, more than 90% of the murders are left with no effort made towards solving them. Most of the victims are the poor and indigenous, so Calderon could care less. This has been the case throughout Mexico's history, so it's no surprise, and Peña Nieto is unlikely to be any different.
During his adminstration all Hell broke loose..he took a stick and swatted at a hornets nest. And he never bothered the Sinaloa Cartel..calderon was a ineffective presidente.
Delete@7:25 You made a good point that it's not just the government that is to blame, but also other citizens and institutions that do have some influence as well.
ReplyDeleteThe one world government with id chips, more advanced scanners will put an end to the cartels
ReplyDeleteWho gives a shit, she's a liberal writer, with an opinion. I wonder how she would hand that quagmire of a government system if she was president. Just because she voices an opinion doesn't mean it's right. I get so sick of seeing that certain people in this world think that their opinion is more important than others. Mexico needs help that is the bottom line. I'm pretty sure Calderon has done more help to that country than she has as a writer.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Calderon has done more for that country than she has as a liberal complainer of her own opinion. Why do certain people in this world think their stupid ass opinion is more important than others. Mexico needs help, that's the bottom line, and I'm pretty sure she is not helping move things in that direction. I wonder what she would be able to get done if she was the President for a day or even longer. It's easy to play armchair quarterback until someone actually throws you the ball and tells you that you have to run.
ReplyDelete-Cowboy
IMMORAL PANDERING PARICITE of the USA.
ReplyDeleteLeavbe Isreal out of this Equation.
they are the Parasites, Mexico does not live on welfare.
Mexico in flames! No really! Is that what your calling this low level war! And the CIA did'nt introduce crack cocaine into America's inner cities in the 80's, in collusion with exiled Nicaraguen Contra sympathizers! Tell me something I don't know! This is cheap publicity stunt by a writer who is trying to sell a book; if a cartel wanted to take her out they would have done it already. To Mrs. Hernandez credit, she continues to raise awareness to the corruption that permeates the government in Mex., and the complicity of corrupt politicians. And yes, Mexico is a mafia state!
ReplyDeleteI am an outsider looking in (from Texas), but I think I have a pretty accurate big picture perspective on the situation in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteBelow is a link to an old article from 2008 about the Mexican drug economy that helps explain the significance of the illicit drug trade to the Mexican economy. The Mexican government and most Mexican citizens don’t truly want to stop the drug trade because it would hurt their economy too much.
http://www.golbalenvision.org/2008/09/08mexicos-war-drugs-war-economy
Mexico’s total GDP is approximately $65 billion. The illicit drug trade represents approximately $50 billion that is not counted in the GDP figures. This means that almost 50% of the total real GDP of Mexico is from the illicit drug trade and supplying drugs to the US.
Even legitimate Mexican businesspeople and those Mexicans not directly involved in the drug trade would not want the economy to suffer if the drug trade were stopped. The Mexican politicians and government have a long history of corruption and “quotas”. This is part of the fabric of society. The violence brought on by the cartels is something that most Mexicans would like stopped, but the politicians are willing to look the other way to protect their graft, quotas and kickbacks.
Even if drugs were legalized in the US, Mexico would always be a gateway for smuggling whatever is prohibited in the US. Blaming the US for the violence in Mexico, and claiming it is because of guns or the drug use of some Americans, is like blaming another kid on the playground and saying “he made me do it”. Everyone is responsible for their own actions, especially when pulling a trigger or using a knife to cut someone’s head off. I fear the number of psychopaths as they multiply daily.
Those who pay attention know there is a Mexican government mandated lack of reporting about the violence in Mexico, and there is a US mainstream media failure to report about the violence in Mexico, so many in the US are oblivious. I also question the lack of reporting about cartel related activities on the US side of the border. The Mexican cartels don’t just hand off the drugs to good guys on the US side of the border. Many cartel members must live on the US side along the border and psychos are living among us here in the US, though they are not as often openly violent as in Mexico.
Sincere thanks to the BB staff. You are outstanding! I have read daily for a couple of years, but this is my first post.
"Mexico does not live on welfare."
ReplyDeleteTheir own, or someone else's? Please clarify.
Same old story from the past hundred years of mexicos existence. But no one seems to realize that nothing is going to change just cause of the simple fact that money is everything in this world. End of story
ReplyDelete@March 23, 2013 at 8:15 PM
ReplyDeleteIf she can provide proofs then how can we believe her? She only attacks those who ain´t with Lopez Obrador, and never with proofs. How can someone believe her? She attacks Calderon for sending the army to attack the narcos. NEVER have i heard a goog comment from her when the army kills a sicario, when the army gets a capo, when the army save immigrants in Tamaulipas, NEVER.
She simply is either on AMLO or a Cartel payroll.
AMLO and Cartels work together, all leftists are eventually tied up with drugs for money for guns. Hernandez is just a mouthpiece and a propagandist for the maoists. About the same as the kleptocrats as far as the good people of Mexico are concerned.
DeleteBTW if you want to read a REAL narco journalist, look up articles from the late Jesus Blancornelas, founder of the Zeta Magazine in Tijuana-
ReplyDeletefrom Anon @ 11:58
ReplyDeleteI apologize for providing an incorrect link. The correct link is: http://www.globalenvision.org/2008/09/08/mexicos-war-drugs-war-economy
9:50 A.M. guy from Texas,you are Spot on, I to have spent my life in Texas in and out of Mexico, you are right. We all share the wish that somehow Mexicans in Mexico will develop to the point that Mexico can be reasonably secure and life can return to a user friendly situation.
ReplyDelete@ 4:43P.M. O?
DeleteOf course, if they wanted her dead, she would be dead A LONG TIME AGO. Her "investigatios"(with little or no proofs, may I add) where a BIG instrument against Calderon. Calderon is the one who started hitting the cartels, even Sinaloa.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to take a military coup of some kind to make any change. A Mexican general more interested in legacy than money could free Mexico. Short of this I see no hope for out toilet to the south.
ReplyDeleteAs for the idiot who said Mexico isn't on welfare, get a grip. They drop anchor babies in the USA all day every day.
Mexico is an example of an immoral violent lost country of sin. They've sold their collective souls to the devil.
@5:23 it seems like you read BB just to feed your hate, use the news of terrible stuff happening to somehow confirm your preconceived ideas about Mexico so you can label over a hundred million people as scum and move on. Wrong. Stupid and simplistic, educate yourself and try to be a bit empathetic with the suffering of fellow humans.
ReplyDeleteWow, so much hate from people who don't even know who she is of the kind of information she has access to. Don't comment on things you know nothing about guys. Most of the things she's said have proven to be true.
ReplyDelete