Autodefensa: Narco-Corrido Singer El Komander Blocked by Cherán Community Police

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

Though autodefensas groups have organized and been successful in keeping organized crime out of their communities for over a century,  the autodefensas of Cherán, Michoacán, was the first group in recent history to organize and drive out organized crime from their community.

A "narco-corrido" concert by "El Komander" had been promoted in Cherán, Michoacán from 3pm on December 15th, 2013. The Sinaloa based El Komander is known for singing about organized crime and in particular about the Sinaloa (CDS)  Cartel. 

Even though the cartel  isn´t active in the Purépecha plateau, where the community of Cherán is located, community members clarify that they are absolutely against any type of organized crime organization and the activities that revolve them, including narco-corridos of any type.

 On April 15th, 2011 Cherán, rose up against the local cartel that was taking control of their lives through murders, rapes, extortion, kidnapping, disappearances, and the illegal exploitation of forests in the region.
 

The contention of members of the Purépecha community declared that local, state and even federal authorities were complicit with organized crime in the region and were no longer conducting their duty to protect and provide security to their communities, and that authorities had become a part of the problem  as they were no longer working in the interest of the community.

In the 20,000 member community, the situation resulted in the indigenous community becoming ungovernable and in a move to exercise their constitutional rights, they banished all forms of government agencies, state, local and federal from their community, and took control in a self-governing, self-policing manner.

In affect they took control of the community and all of its governing functions, including all primary decisions.  By implementing a rotating general council, its form of self-governing since the uprising has returned to the traditional form of indigenous self-council has been reinstated.

These actions have eradicated crime from the community, in the hands of a rotating council.  Living with the awareness that organized crime will try methods to reestablish themselves in the community, the concert of narro corrido band “El Komander” was not allowed to perform or enter the community.

Despite ticket sales by event organizers, the autodefensas council informed event organizers they were prohibited from entering the community and conducting the concert. 

The concert was viewed by community leaders as an attempt to test the community’s resolve against these types of concerts.

A few miles ahead of the proposed concert venue, a community barricade was established as a check point, and would-be concert attendees were turned away and the concert was prevented from going forth.

Note: The video and information on the original articles named CDG as the cartel that this singer sings about, however that is in error, the Sinaloa based singer is a corridor singer of CDS material.  I changed the information to reflect the correction but there remains the conflict in the video.   

 Information Source: michoacancheranblogSpot-facebook