La Jornada: Was Mexico City Violence on October 2 Anniversary Fabricated? La Jornada
go to original October 4, 2013

Wednesday, 45 years after the crime committed by the State in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the capital against unarmed students, youth and citizens, a massive and peaceful march took place to remember those wrongs and those of the present. Historical leaders of the 1968 student movement, contemporary student contingents, teachers in the fight against the so called education reform and other progressive citizen sectors attended. It was, in general, a peaceful and orderly demonstration in an urban environment unjustifiably hemmed in.

Nevertheless, the actions of small violent groups led to acts of vandalism, confrontations with police forces, dozens of injured on both sides and, above all, a displacement of the central demonstration from the public limelight, a fact that was contributed to by the huge media display of the excesses and the poor coverage provided to the culmination of the march and rally that took place, finally, at the Angel of Independence traffic circle.

The unusual and excessive police deployment, on one side, and the presence of groups determined to provoke violence, and police dressed in civilian clothing, repeated once again, as occurred on December 1st of 2012 [Inauguration of Peña Nieto] and on September 13th [police removal of demonstrating teachers from city's central plaza]. Another similarity with those dates was the detention and severe abuse of people unconcerned with the acts of violence.

This pattern of facts makes one think that a plan exists to criminalize peaceful social protest, associating it in the media with barbarism and irrational violence and creating currents of public opinion in favor of a large-scale repressive policy. Facing the inevitable question about the origin of such similar, dangerous, provocative and authoritarian decisions, the unavoidable answer, according to the evidence provided, is that it seems to originate from one or more levels of public power.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Translated by Megan LeDoux

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