Washington Post: Parents of 43 students who disappeared in southern Mexico at the hands of police and a drug gang have lifted a protest camp in the capital.
They call it a show of faith in a new investigation after victims’ relatives, international experts and human rights advocates cast doubt on a previous probe. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label state violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label state violence. Show all posts
Nov 27, 2015
Mexico Federal Police open to probe on use of excessive force
Reuters: Mexico's Federal Police is open to an investigation into its possible use of excessive force, particularly in two incidents this year that claimed the lives of dozens of people, police chief Enrique Galindo said on Thursday.
Mexico's National Human Rights Commision (CNDH) on Wednesday said six people died unlawfully after police were excessive in their efforts to restrain a group of protesters in the violence-wracked city of Apatzingan in Michoacan state. Read more.
Mexico's National Human Rights Commision (CNDH) on Wednesday said six people died unlawfully after police were excessive in their efforts to restrain a group of protesters in the violence-wracked city of Apatzingan in Michoacan state. Read more.
Oct 29, 2015
Mexican police accused of shooting demonstrators point-blank in the head
World News Report: Mexican police shot unarmed protesters in the head as they were cowering on the ground, according to a hard-hitting report compiled by Human Rights Watch.
Demonstrators against the government were beaten with metal pipes, dragged to the ground and shot. A 20-year-old pregnant woman, Rosa Isela Orozco Sandoval, said she was punched, kicked and dragged across the ground. One witness told HRW that a policeman put a gun against his head, and only refrained from pulling the trigger when another policeman warned his colleague that locals were filming the confrontation.
Demonstrators against the government were beaten with metal pipes, dragged to the ground and shot. A 20-year-old pregnant woman, Rosa Isela Orozco Sandoval, said she was punched, kicked and dragged across the ground. One witness told HRW that a policeman put a gun against his head, and only refrained from pulling the trigger when another policeman warned his colleague that locals were filming the confrontation.
Oct 21, 2015
Indigenous Community Police Look Back, Look Forward
FNS News: Twenty years ago, a revolution in policing and community justice broke out in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Fed up with constant robberies and sexual assaults, Indigenous communities in the Costa Rica and La Montana regions of Guerrero formed armed community police forces that grew into the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC).
Taking root in scores of Mixtec, Nahua and other communities, the CRAC was widely credited with significantly curbing criminal activities. Concomitant with a volunteer policing concept, the CRAC implemented a popular justice system of reeducation and community work.
Taking root in scores of Mixtec, Nahua and other communities, the CRAC was widely credited with significantly curbing criminal activities. Concomitant with a volunteer policing concept, the CRAC implemented a popular justice system of reeducation and community work.
Sep 11, 2015
THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE: The US Military and the Myth that Humanity is Predisposed to Violence
Editor's Note: This is an important read that is relevant to the Americas Program's critique of US funding and training in Latin America and the downward spiral of violence this causes.
Other Worlds: We have this tragic misperception that humanity is predisposed to violence.
Other Worlds: We have this tragic misperception that humanity is predisposed to violence.
The truth is that humanity is predisposed to peace. The default position for humanity is that of conscientious objector to war and violence.
May 17, 2015
Mexican Government Compensates Kin of Victims of Army Massacre
Latin American Herald Tribune: The Mexican government announced it will distribute more than 50 million pesos ($3.3 million) to the families of 22 civilians killed by soldiers in a June 2014 incident that has become known as the Tlatlaya massacre.
The Executive Commission on Assistance to Victims, or CEAV, said in a statement it has begun integral reparation actions as recommended by the independent National Human Rights Commission. Read more.
The Executive Commission on Assistance to Victims, or CEAV, said in a statement it has begun integral reparation actions as recommended by the independent National Human Rights Commission. Read more.
Feb 7, 2015
"Not Counting Mexicans or Indians": The Many Tentacles of State Violence Against Black-Brown-Indigenous Communities
TruthOut: "They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds." - Popul Vuh
Between my eyes, I bear a scar in the shape of a "T" that I received on March 23, 1979, on the streets of East Los Angeles. It functions as a reminder that my skull was cracked, but more importantly, that I did not remain silent and that I won two police violence trials, for witnessing and photographing the brutal beating of a young man by perhaps a dozen sheriff's deputies.
These events are seared into my memory because of how I remember them. After coming back to consciousness, amid violent threats, I was handcuffed and left facedown on the cold street, bleeding profusely from my forehead. While in shock and unable to even lift my head, in my own pool of blood, amid flashing red and blue lights everywhere, I could see many dozens of officers giving chase and arresting everyone in sight. What I also witnessed in the reflection of my own blood was everything that I will relay here. Read more.
Between my eyes, I bear a scar in the shape of a "T" that I received on March 23, 1979, on the streets of East Los Angeles. It functions as a reminder that my skull was cracked, but more importantly, that I did not remain silent and that I won two police violence trials, for witnessing and photographing the brutal beating of a young man by perhaps a dozen sheriff's deputies.
These events are seared into my memory because of how I remember them. After coming back to consciousness, amid violent threats, I was handcuffed and left facedown on the cold street, bleeding profusely from my forehead. While in shock and unable to even lift my head, in my own pool of blood, amid flashing red and blue lights everywhere, I could see many dozens of officers giving chase and arresting everyone in sight. What I also witnessed in the reflection of my own blood was everything that I will relay here. Read more.
Feb 2, 2015
Mexico Tortured Police For Confessions In 43 Students Case: Report
Huffington Post: An investigative report published Sunday by the Mexican magazine Proceso accuses Mexican authorities of beating and torturing municipal police officers in an effort to force confessions in the case of the missing 43 students whose disappearances have led to mass protests across the country.
Based on documents obtained from Mexico’s office of the attorney general and interviews with the police officers’ families, the article, by journalists Anabel Hernández and Steve Fisher, casts doubts on the state's official explanation for what happened to the missing students, and suggests that the use of torture may have compromised the prosecution. Read more.
Based on documents obtained from Mexico’s office of the attorney general and interviews with the police officers’ families, the article, by journalists Anabel Hernández and Steve Fisher, casts doubts on the state's official explanation for what happened to the missing students, and suggests that the use of torture may have compromised the prosecution. Read more.
Nov 1, 2014
11 Numbers To Help You Understand The Violence Rocking Mexico
Huffington Post: On Sept. 26, dozens of students at a Mexican teachers' college went missing after a protest in the city of Iguala. They were last seen being hauled off into police vans and haven't been heard from since.
While searching for the missing students, investigators have uncovered a string of mass graves, police working for drug cartels and government officials at the helm of criminal operations. Read more.
While searching for the missing students, investigators have uncovered a string of mass graves, police working for drug cartels and government officials at the helm of criminal operations. Read more.
Feb 4, 2013
Call for Solidarity: For Kuy, in Coma Following Mexican Presidential Inauguration Protest
My word is my weapon by Kristin Bricker
February 1, 2013
In a recent communique, the Zapatista National Liberation Army called upon their supporters to donate money to help with the medical expenses of Juan Francisco "Kuy" Kuykendall, who was injured by a police projectile during the protests against Enrique Peña Nieto's presidential inauguration on December 1, 2012. Kuy is in a coma and has undergone multiple surgeries. He's lost portions of his brain due to the attack and subsequent surgeries, including a recent one where surgeons had to cut out infected brain tissue. Read more.
February 1, 2013
In a recent communique, the Zapatista National Liberation Army called upon their supporters to donate money to help with the medical expenses of Juan Francisco "Kuy" Kuykendall, who was injured by a police projectile during the protests against Enrique Peña Nieto's presidential inauguration on December 1, 2012. Kuy is in a coma and has undergone multiple surgeries. He's lost portions of his brain due to the attack and subsequent surgeries, including a recent one where surgeons had to cut out infected brain tissue. Read more.
Dec 13, 2012
#YoSoy132 Pronouncement
Mexico City, December 7, 2012!
Pronouncement!
The events of Dec. 1 confirm the trepidations that during the last few months have sealed a wave of indignation opening the way for the mass mobilization of the countries multiple sectors. We recognize an orchestrated overwhelming onslaught against social movements and particularly against youth and the 132 Movement. With these facts we are forced to endure the imposition of Peña.
We denounce the aggressive operation mounted by the military and police in the center of Mexico City whose responsibility falls on federal and state government security commissions. A similar operation was repeated in other cities, and especially Guadalajara.
The violence came from state security forces and began with the erection of a fence spanning San Lázaro and the neighboring colonies. The testimonies and video speak for themselves of how the government introduced confrontation and provocation, with arbitrary detentions and also by dealing blows, sexual harassment and point blank shots of rubber bullets aimed at protesters.
We call for a well organized, united, and wide campaign for the preservation of democratic liberties beginning with the immediate release of all men and women political prisoners.
For all of the above:
1. We demand that the penal actions exercised against the 58 men and 11 women remanded under the criminal statues of 287/2012 of the 47 court of the Mexico City jail all of them men and women victims of a political strategy and orchestrated media coverage by the Mexican state in coordination with methods of communication that have also criminalized at a minimum five of the remanded with their presumed innocence under threat and in detriment to the human rights of this process.
2. As it is we demand the repeal of article 362 of the Mexico City penal code that describes the crime as and attack on public peace (equivalent to the crime of federal terrorism laws) as in the rest of the state penal codes which contemplate by treating the crime as an attempt to blame the victims of the very disturbance of the public peace conducted by the state and for trying to act as a trap using the same to reprimand fights, manifestations and social protests along the history but under another regime as occurred in the atrocities of 1968 and 1971 under the penalty of social crisis. The investigation and punishment should fall exclusively on those responsible for the provocations and state violence. We reject the politicization of justice that does not lead to the construction of an authentically direct democratic state.
3. We demand guaranteed rights for all men and women. We protest against the criminalization of the struggle and social protest, we also demand respect for the character of our mobilizations and actions that the #YoSoy132 movement in its peaceful approach carries out.
IMMEDIATE LIBERTY FOR ALL WOMEN AND MEN POLITICAL PRISONERS!
WE ARE ALL PRISONERS! NOT ONE MORE ISOLATED STRUGGLE!
BECAUSE PROTESTING IS NOT A CRIME!
National Assembly of the #YoSoy132 Movement!
Pronouncement!
The events of Dec. 1 confirm the trepidations that during the last few months have sealed a wave of indignation opening the way for the mass mobilization of the countries multiple sectors. We recognize an orchestrated overwhelming onslaught against social movements and particularly against youth and the 132 Movement. With these facts we are forced to endure the imposition of Peña.
We denounce the aggressive operation mounted by the military and police in the center of Mexico City whose responsibility falls on federal and state government security commissions. A similar operation was repeated in other cities, and especially Guadalajara.
The violence came from state security forces and began with the erection of a fence spanning San Lázaro and the neighboring colonies. The testimonies and video speak for themselves of how the government introduced confrontation and provocation, with arbitrary detentions and also by dealing blows, sexual harassment and point blank shots of rubber bullets aimed at protesters.
We call for a well organized, united, and wide campaign for the preservation of democratic liberties beginning with the immediate release of all men and women political prisoners.
For all of the above:
1. We demand that the penal actions exercised against the 58 men and 11 women remanded under the criminal statues of 287/2012 of the 47 court of the Mexico City jail all of them men and women victims of a political strategy and orchestrated media coverage by the Mexican state in coordination with methods of communication that have also criminalized at a minimum five of the remanded with their presumed innocence under threat and in detriment to the human rights of this process.
2. As it is we demand the repeal of article 362 of the Mexico City penal code that describes the crime as and attack on public peace (equivalent to the crime of federal terrorism laws) as in the rest of the state penal codes which contemplate by treating the crime as an attempt to blame the victims of the very disturbance of the public peace conducted by the state and for trying to act as a trap using the same to reprimand fights, manifestations and social protests along the history but under another regime as occurred in the atrocities of 1968 and 1971 under the penalty of social crisis. The investigation and punishment should fall exclusively on those responsible for the provocations and state violence. We reject the politicization of justice that does not lead to the construction of an authentically direct democratic state.
3. We demand guaranteed rights for all men and women. We protest against the criminalization of the struggle and social protest, we also demand respect for the character of our mobilizations and actions that the #YoSoy132 movement in its peaceful approach carries out.
IMMEDIATE LIBERTY FOR ALL WOMEN AND MEN POLITICAL PRISONERS!
WE ARE ALL PRISONERS! NOT ONE MORE ISOLATED STRUGGLE!
BECAUSE PROTESTING IS NOT A CRIME!
National Assembly of the #YoSoy132 Movement!
Dec 4, 2012
69 People Jailed Following Violent Mexico Protests
ABC News By Manuel Rueda
Dec. 4, 2012
Sixty-nine people have been sent to jail in Mexico City, for allegedly destroying businesses and public property during protests held on Saturday against Mexico's new president.
These detainees, who were in temporary detention centers until Monday, have been charged with "rioting," and "disturbing the public peace," and if convicted could face five to 30 years in jail.
But the charges brought against these 69 individuals have been vehemently rejected by social movements who participated in Saturday's protests against Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. These groups are accusing police of using excessive force on Saturday and of imprisoning the 69 protesters as an intimidation tactic.
On Monday afternoon, members of the YoSoy132 Student Movement, the Communist Party and a half dozen more political groups held a rally at Mexico City's Independence Monument to call for the liberation of these detainees.
"They weren't doing anything but voicing their opposition against an imposed president who is bad for the country," said Aura Sorita, holding a poster with the pictures of two university students. Sorita's friends, Mary Montezuma and Obed Palgod, were detained during Saturday's protests and are now being held in separate Mexico City penitentiaries. Read more.
Dec. 4, 2012
Sixty-nine people have been sent to jail in Mexico City, for allegedly destroying businesses and public property during protests held on Saturday against Mexico's new president.
These detainees, who were in temporary detention centers until Monday, have been charged with "rioting," and "disturbing the public peace," and if convicted could face five to 30 years in jail.
But the charges brought against these 69 individuals have been vehemently rejected by social movements who participated in Saturday's protests against Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. These groups are accusing police of using excessive force on Saturday and of imprisoning the 69 protesters as an intimidation tactic.
On Monday afternoon, members of the YoSoy132 Student Movement, the Communist Party and a half dozen more political groups held a rally at Mexico City's Independence Monument to call for the liberation of these detainees.
"They weren't doing anything but voicing their opposition against an imposed president who is bad for the country," said Aura Sorita, holding a poster with the pictures of two university students. Sorita's friends, Mary Montezuma and Obed Palgod, were detained during Saturday's protests and are now being held in separate Mexico City penitentiaries. Read more.
Oct 22, 2012
Torture by Federal police and the Army increases during Calderon's term
El Diario, October 7, 2012
Translated for Borderland Beat
Distrito Federal. Torture and cruel treatment of civilians by federal forces increased during the administration of President Felipe Calderon. From 2006 until May 31, 2012, the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) received 89 complaints against Army, Navy and Federal Police members involving torture.
At the beginning of (Calderon's) six year term, there were three complaints; in 2007, (there were) 7; in 2008, 15; in 2009, 19; in 2010, 11, and in 2011, 28. There were six complaints up to May, 2012.
Meanwhile, the files for cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment went from 85 to 1,497, according to the organization's statistics, obtained via "transparency" (Ley Federal de Transparencia; similar to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.)
According to the report, Chihuahua is the state with the most complaints, followed by San Luis Potosi, Michoacan, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Baja California and Coahuila. Read more.
Translated for Borderland Beat
Distrito Federal. Torture and cruel treatment of civilians by federal forces increased during the administration of President Felipe Calderon. From 2006 until May 31, 2012, the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) received 89 complaints against Army, Navy and Federal Police members involving torture.
At the beginning of (Calderon's) six year term, there were three complaints; in 2007, (there were) 7; in 2008, 15; in 2009, 19; in 2010, 11, and in 2011, 28. There were six complaints up to May, 2012.
Meanwhile, the files for cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment went from 85 to 1,497, according to the organization's statistics, obtained via "transparency" (Ley Federal de Transparencia; similar to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.)
According to the report, Chihuahua is the state with the most complaints, followed by San Luis Potosi, Michoacan, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Baja California and Coahuila. Read more.
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