Mexico Is Dying And You Should Care

The country of Mexico has not, at least in my lifetime, ever been considered to be the safest or most luxurious country on earth. It's rather notorious, in fact, for its political corruption and domestic warfare. There is now a path to change and much needed revolution for the struggling country.

However, the conflict is rather complicated and hard to follow, so I'll do my best to simplify the events down (without distorting the information) and break it down in a less complicated way. Once I'm done, I will leave extra article links below if you would like to read further on the matter.

How it has all started:
On September 26th, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa, wife of Iguala's Mayor José Luis Abarca, of the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution, was in the town's main square giving a speech about her political and social accomplishments in the office of Head of Municipal Social Services Agency. It was being rumored that she would announce her candidacy to take over her husband's office as mayor in June elections.

However, just as she began her speech, two busloads of kids from the notoriously radical teachers' college in the nearby city of Ayotzinapa arrived to raise money and began heading for Iguala's town square.

According to the Federal Attorney General's Office, she ordered the local police chief to stop them from coming to the square. After a minor clash with the local police, the students stole three buses (that they would also use to go to the march commemorating the 1968 massacre in Tlatelolco), but on their way out of the city were sprayed with machine gun fire by the local police and members of the United Warriors cartel.

During the shooting, three students died, along with a soccer player, a cab driver, and his passenger.

Apparently, one student who panicked and left when his classmates were rounded up by police and gang members was later found dead with his eyes gouged out and face flensed with a box cutter, in an act of unspeakable, and not to mention unnecessary, violence. 43 other students were huddled up into police cars, and have now disappeared. (Remains of human bodies found burned and remains thrown down a river found recently are speculated to be from the students, but as of the writing of this entry is still unconfirmed.)

María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa has been, for years now, working with Beltrán Leyva, Sinaloa and Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors, mentioned above) cartels and a recently captured leader of the United Warriors stated she was the "key operator" of criminal activity around the town of Iguala.

"The classmate was bleeding so much," the 19-year-old de la Cruz told Reuters at the all-male college in Ayotzinapa, east of Guerrero's capital Chilpancingo. "He wrote on his mobile phone: 'Get me out because I'm dying'. Because he wasn't able to talk. We saw them take them. It just means that we have a narco government in Guerrero."*

Hundreds of students briefly occupied the state attorney general's office in Guerrero on Tuesday in protest and a local far-left guerrilla group known as the EPR (The Popular Revolutionary Army) issued a statement pledging to resist what it labeled "state terrorism".

What we are left with:
Since the incidents have occurred, there have been mass demonstrations against the government. President Peña Nieto ran his campaign (pre-2010) on ending the murderous gang-related violence and corruption of Mexico. Although the murder rate did decrease, kidnapping and torture rates went up, and citizens say that police involvement in crime is worse than ever. Corruption has spread, but they are scared to say it aloud.

"We all tried to march in a smart, civil way; let the government know we are not happy with how they are performing and that we want the resignation of our president. As usual in mexico the peaceful marches didn't last long, for some guys payed by the government infiltrated the marches and rioted in violent ways." -/u/stevenette

Today is the anniversary of Mexico's revolution and masses will take this opportunity to take to the streets and demand the resignation of President Nieto. I do not doubt that violence will ensure, and my thoughts and love go out to all those who are affected, in any way, by these events.

However, this is Mexico's chance to make the change they so desperately need. A country with such astounding culture and solid ideals have no need for such violence and hatred, and I can only hope that they make the most of what they have got. The road ahead of these people is a long and merciless one. I stand with the people of Mexico.

That is all I have for today, and I will leave the links to further articles below. I'll be back Monday with a new post. Thank you!

"Historically, the most terrible things - war, genocide, and slavery- have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience." -Howard Zimm


*Quote pulled from Dave Graham's article on Reuters
Huffington Post
Reuters