A Month After the Murder of Juan Francisco Sicilia and Other Young People, a National Forum BeginsBy Carolina Corral
Special to The Narco News Bulletin
April 28, 2011
CUERNAVACA, MORELOS, MEXICO, Wednesday April 27, 2011: This morning the water in the Paloma de la Paz fountain was dyed the color of blood when members with the Movement for Peace took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and got into the fountain to sprinkle in red vegetable oil paint to act as the blood shed in this so-called “war against narco-trafficking.”
“The blood represents all of the victims that the violence and the war have left us with during this administration. It is also a way to protest the authorities and their inability to stop the operations of criminal groups in this country,” explained a member of the network.
This was the first action on the itinerary of a protest that is being lead by three motives: to remember the seven people murdered a month ago along with all of the others who have lost their lives in the same way, to protest a proposal for a national public security law that would give the executive branch of the government the power to use the army at its beck and call against demonstrators, and to promote the National Forum of Young People in the National Emergency.
Once the fountain waters had turned red the young people moved to the state Attorney General’s office to close it down with a yellow banner that said “Closed due to impunity and complicity.” They delivered their fist letter to the office, denouncing the ineffectiveness of the Attorney General, who has not resigned from his position despite four hundred deaths in Morelos due to the “war” and inefficient legal investigations. The demonstrators read in a loud voice, “We are here to remind Attorney General Luis Benítez Vélez that he has not done his job as a public servant.” They denounced the fact that “there is no justice for victims of this so-called ‘war’ against narco-trafficking, because the criminals and authorities imitate each other until they turn into one entity.”
The last stop was the Morelos State Congress while the deputies were in session. Members of the network entered the building and turned their backs on the lawmakers to show the same way they had turned their backs on the public. Network members began to read a letter to the chamber which called for them, among others things, to reconsider a proposal to impeach Governor Marco Adame Castillo and bring him to justice. “We know that we can’t ask you for very much. In a few months more than half of you will have resigned to look for another elected political position, directing the legislative gridlock in the state. However, we still believe that you can salvage a shred of dignity and assume the role to impeach the one who was elected to govern but has not done so.”
They ended their letter saying “we are closing down this congress to denounce that in Morelos there is no governing body that brings justice.” They put up another yellow banner that said “Closed due to incompetents.” They said that there is a lack of political representatives who are making coherent decisions in favor of the public and called for Mexican youth to come to talk—to create agreements and solutions for the country—at the National Forum of Young People in the National Emergency being held April 28-29 at the Mexican Union of Electricians’ hall in Cuernavaca. Attendees from Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Chiapas, Sonora, Michoacán and Guerrero have confirmed that they are arriving to the city today to begin discussing Mexico’s future.
This is the beginning - but only the barest of beginnings - of what it will take to turn things around. The man on the street has to hold the authorities accountable, and battle the narco gangs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some people might die for their trouble. But, would you rather die standing like a man, or die cringing and whining in some gutter in an alley while others cringe and whine within hearing of your dying moans?
I remember when El PAN won in 2000 watching it on Televisa that night. "El cambio" well we mexicans always bitched que el PRI always held us back. Now we long for the time when el PRI ran the show, maybe we should vote PRD this time. It can't hurt.
ReplyDeleteI just don't get it , Why aren't these people supporting efforts to reform the FED and State govts? ARE they complaining that the gangs are killing people,or are they complaining that the Govt is killing people? Do they believe that the criminal mess will go away if the govt stops trying to control them?? Calderon has taken a very strong position,maby these people are trying to get their State Govt to cooperate ?
ReplyDelete'ARE they complaining that the gangs are killing people,or are they complaining that the Govt is killing people?'
ReplyDeleteThey are complaining because the govt and gangs BOTH are killing people.
'Why aren't these people supporting efforts to reform the FED and State govts?... Calderon has taken a very strong position...'
Because Calderon is no reformer at all. He is another thug in high office, that's all. And one who 'won' by electoral fraud at that and who was pushed into office by a foreign power (the US). Got it now, Anonymous? Many people don't want a national leader who is more tied to the US and Mexican elites than to the People themselves. They don't want a thug leader who creates bloodshed and chaos while talking in the name of law and order.
I left Cuernavaca last December. The previous month the military while conducting a raid on "El Ponchis" boss "El Negro" who was my neighbor broke in and stole from me and my neighbors. No warrants of course. The high road would have been to question us about "El Negro" Radilla and his movements, but no these thugs took the low road. Everything was reported to the US Embassy, commanding general of 24th Zona Militar, etc. Results so far: NADA.
ReplyDeleteI heard for the first time in my life in Dec. 2009 gunfire that resulted in deaths. This was the Marines (good guys) battling with Beltran Leyva cartel nearby. My girlfriend heard gunfire resulting in deaths twice in another part of Cuernavaca. So yeah, I can see why the populace is in the streets. Hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys there and it has been that way for a long time. I just hope the US stops funding the corrupt brigades using the Leahy Law put into place for just such abuses.
The saddest part is that the violence is being fueled by US weapons. Analyst Gregory Berger, writing on Narconews.com, reported that one of the teargas cartridges discharged inside a citizen’s home in Xoxocatla carried the massage in English “For use only by trained individuals.” He speculates that this and other weapons the Mexican Army uses to rout domestic opposition emanate from the United States under its newly elaborated “Plan Mexico,” established ostensibly to support “war on drugs.
ReplyDeleteExcellent just what needs to take place. My thoughts and prayers are with the good people who are suffering from all of this obscene violence.
ReplyDelete