Public Support for Arrested Rebel Vigilante Leader Mireles Building in Mexico James Bargent - InSight Crime
go to original July 8, 2014

A shaved Jose Manuel Mireles after his capture (Milenio)

The prosecution of rebel vigilante leader Jose Manuel Mireles in Mexico has sparked a public backlash, and with a new poll suggesting 70 percent of Mexicans support the vigilante movement, the government may soon find itself losing the public relations war and facing a new threat.

On June 5, a court handed Mireles a formal detention order, initiating the legal process against him, reported Excelsior. Mireles, who was arrested on June 27 shortly after leading a vigilante militia takeover of a town in the southwestern state of Michoacan, will now be charged of possessing illegal weapons and drugs.

However, a campaign to free Mireles is building. In Michoacan, self-defense militias and their supporters have staged roadblocks and solidarity marches, while prominent figures and organizations ranging from Mexican politicians to the hacker collective Anonymous have publicly backed him. Mireles' lawyer has even launched a campaign encouraging people to shave their head in solidarity after images emerged of a newly shaven Mireles in prison.

A new survey released by polling firm Parametria suggests the campaign is likely to resonate among Mexicans. According to the poll 70 percent of Mexican's have a "good" or "very good" perception of the self-defense movement, reported Vanguardia. Of those that knew of Mireles, 67 percent had a positive perception of him, although the poll was taken before Mireles' arrest.

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