Human rights in Mexico (November 24, 2014)

Gente de México por la Democracia
Gente de México por la Democracia

Source: Gente de México por la Democracia vía MXporFCassez
November 24, 2014
Translation: Jorge B. for CART / ACDV

In Ayotzinapa: It was the State

On September 26 and 27, 2014, the Mexican institutions gave one more example of their weakness, of their complicity with crime. The disappearance of 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural (Rural Normal School) at Ayotzinapa, the death of six more and the twenty-seven wounded was the balance of that night in which the government delivered a brutal blow to Mexican society.

Almost two months have passed since the disappearance of the 43 students. The federal government counts on society’s forgetfulness of this situation, conducting a mediocre investigation headed by the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) and staging events to persuade us that they are meeting their duty to search for the 43 students. Nevertheless, the disgust with inefficient and corrupt institutions and rulers has no room for oblivion.

We have seen a tired attorney general, who does not even try to do his work but who, nevertheless, also refuses to leave the position. We have seen a PGR incapable to give answers and lead a responsible investigation. And how could he do it if the PGR continues acting as the extended arm of the executive to punish political adversaries and maintains inoperative personnel that the former Attorney General Marisela Morales left in the institution after vacating the position? The PGR is focused in intimidating and arbitrarily detaining all those that protest and showcase the corruption in the system, whether they are journalists, activists, students, women or children. The Prosecutor’s Office prefers to persecute those who oppose the Mexican government than those who, from a position of power, have threatened the interests of the country.

The government of Enrique Peña Nieto is not only incapable of getting results but also an accomplice in these crimes. Now with police force and repression, it is attempting to silence the voices that demand justice. However, its intimidation attempts will not work. As Mexicans we will continue taking to the streets demanding justice, a stop to impunity and corruption, the safe return of the 43 students and the dismissal of any civil servant that threatens the interests of Mexico.

The State was responsible for the disappearance of the students; the State was responsible for the repression against demonstrators; the State, and its collusion with organized crime, was and is responsible for the violence that plagues this country.