Untwisting Reality

Ayotzinapa: A Breaking Point in Mexico’s History

• By Poetry X
• 16 November, 2014
• No Comments

THE EVENTS

The recent events in Mexico have turned the eyes around the planet to this country. On September 26, docens of students called normalistas (student teachers) who were at a protest in the city of Iguala were ambushed by the police. Three students were found dead, 25 were wounded and 43 just went missing. One of the killed students had his face skin pealed off. This ignited big indignation in the country but it kept gathering more force, as in the search of the 43 missing, mass graves kept being found and the corpses didn’t belong to the missing students. In total there are 12 mass graves found just in the search of these students [TeleSur Nov 14-2014]. As finding keep revealing, it seems the federal police and the military were also involved in this massacre [Regeneracion Dec 2014 / DemocracyNow Jan 6-2015].

This massacre was just a contiuation of a long chain of regular crimes agains youths. In fact, just a few weeks before Ayotzinapa, in another massacre in Tlatlaya 22 youths were executed by the armed forces. In the multiple police and military killings and many other mass graves, the press always managed to taint the murdered victims as linked to drug cartels. However, this time it was clear these 43 missing students were not linked in any way to any criminal organization and the authorities were the only ones to blame. As findings keep coming out, despite the implication of the organized crime as the executors of the missing students, it is still clear the state is responsible for this horrific crime.

What has got Mexican people and the entire world even more enraged is the utter arrogance of some authorities and the obliviousness of the president. The statements from the government have proven to be blatant reckless lies. The state attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam probably came out with the worst reaction of all responding to the permanent questioning of the people and the press saying “I got enough of this” (ya me cansé). This phrase started a viral response on the internet responding back to the Mexican government “We The People got enough of you” [Regeneración Dic 25-2014].

In addition to that, it seems a $7M mansion was given to the president for giving a millionaire contract to “Higa,” a building company [La Iguana Nov 13-2014]. Despite Pena Nieto put his wife to claim the house is hers, the explanation keeps being part of the massive lies the government has been telling.

At this point, the calls to President Pena Nieto to resign are evolving in even more protests that sometimes become violent [RT Nov 2-2014] .

THE U.S.A MEXICO CONNECTION

The major connection among the United States and Mexico are the weapon industry and the so called “war on drugs” that started in 2006 and that many Mexicans work in this way: “in the U.S. they put their noses and in Mexico we put the dead.” A major factor in this “war on drugs” is that in California marijuana is still illegal [Democracy Now Nov 6-2014]. It is important to know that the social labor practice by normalistas made the a U.S target at least since 1966 [Mientras Tanto Nov 29-2014].

The U.S. has spent approximately $3B to fund the so-called war on drugs in Mexico. U.S. support includes $2.4B in taxpayer funds through the Merida Initiative. These programs far away of resolving the problem, they rather perpetuate and even deepen the problem. For example the Merida initiative allows funding directed to municipalities that get even more corrupt to get that money. Also, the funding never demands good salaries to the police, and since their income is so low, they as the military are easy to be bought off by the drug cartels [Democracy Now Nov 13-2014].

Since 2006, more than 100,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence, which far away of eradicating drugs, rather has solidified a haven for drug cartels and corrupt authorities that make fortunes due to the drug, arms and sex trade . Besides the blood shed prevalent in the Mexico, there are at least 8,000 missing disappeared just in the two last years, when Pena Nieto was installed as president. Also, there were 1,698 kidnappings reported just in in 2013, which represent a 15% increase from the previous year [Huffington Post Oct 31-2014].

I this war on drugs Mexican drug cartels rely on U.S. weapons. Drug cartels purchase AK-47s assault rifles and other arms in the United States. 90% of the guns picked up in Mexico from criminal activity were found to be purchased in the U.S. 75% of the guns were purchased in the four US states that border Mexico; Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Overall, 19,000 U.S. guns were used between 2006 and 2009 and the actual number could be even higher, as the figure counts only the guns that were recovered and submitted for tracing.

We must note the U.S. Congress has been blocking any funding to gather and release information linked to the weapons made in the U.S. that organized crime use. Former president of Mexico Calderon demanded the U.S. to impose an assault weapons ban but the U.S. government didn’t even took into consideration. The ban was previously in effect until 2004. A group of conservative former presidents of Brazil, Chile and Mexico have called for a fundamental change in policy regarding weapons.

The assistance the U.S. gives to Mexico, according to some specialists goes to the point Mexico allows U.S. personnel to take part and even lead their operations [RT Nov 22-2014]. And Mexican armed forces themselves are trained in the U.S. For example in the Tlatlaya massacre at least five militaries were trained in the U.S. What is extremely disturbing is that the U.S. government has not given direct assistance to the Mexican military but also to the drug cartels. The U.S. Backed the Sinaloa Drug Cartel Between 2000 and 2012. It came to light when we found out the U.S. financed and armed the Sinaloa cartel, through Operation Fast and Furious, in which, both parts exchanged for information to help the DEA and FBI to destroy and dismantle rival Mexican cartels. In fact, the U.S. helped cartel leaders evade Mexican police [WashigtonsBlog Jan 14-2013]

The most important point of all is that the Mexico is a puppet state of U.S. interests in the region. The late president Pena Nieto has giving concessions for oil and mining including fracking. In fact Oil privatization was recently approved against the will of the Mexican population that took to the street to show their indignation for giving up their resources to corporations. The Mexican government is in the business of securing complete territorial control, that guarantees corporations ease to extract Mexican natural resource.

As it is known Mexico is part of NAFTA, a free trade agreement that far away of helping easy exchange of products, it actually implements mechanisms aimed at militarizing the country in order to protect foreign investment. Because, as it has been proven in the case of Ayotzinapa, the “war on drugs” is not to fight the drug cartels, but to repress and eliminated resistance.

THE BALL IS ROLLING

At this point it’s clear Mexico has come to a breaking point in its history, protests have erupted all across the country and there is big support around the world. However, there is a big danger in this change. Mexico has to learn from Egypt where the revolution resulted in a repressive democracy to later be taken down by a dictatorship masked as democracy.

A new Mexico has to  demand at least 6 points.

1) Humans Rights guarantees and efficient application of justice.

2) Real free elections, free of media manipulation.

3) The military and the police must be reformed.

4) Sovereignty of natural resources.

5) Termination of the war on drugs, and demand the U.S. honest dialog to resolve the problem.

6) Programs aimed to solve problems of inequality.

Under any circumstances those 5 point should be just the base to change Mexico for good, other than that, Mexico is in danger of falling into a greater chaos. Certainly is not going to be easy, and the forces who claimed to be in the left must unify to make real the change in Mexico.