Category: Related

Mexico election: Drugs war in spotlight in Michoacan

By Will Grant
BBC News, Michoacan

There is an area of western Mexico called Tierra Caliente.
The name is a reference to the soporific and oppressive heat in the region. But in this part of the world, caliente can also mean “dangerous” as well as “hot”.
Unfortunately, for many residents in the state of Michoacan, “Dangerous Land” is an all-too-accurate description of their towns and villages.
It was here that the government declared war on the drug cartels. Continue reading →

Drug cartel violence drives Mexico’s troops to once tranquil towns

By Lauren Villagran, Correspondent / August 17, 2012

The Mexican government has dispatched 15,000 troops, and some are headed to places that used to be considered a refuge from the drug-related violence wracking much of the country.

It’s hard to imagine military convoys rolling over the cobblestone colonial streets of Guanajuato, a tranquil town in the Bajío region best known as a destination for university studies and tourism.

But this week, reacting to a spate of violence that has apparently spilled over from neighboring Michoacán state, Mexico’s federal government dispatched troops and federal police to Guanajuato – part of a dispatch of some 15,000 federal forces to seven states. That includes troops to Mexico’s long volatile north, apparently due to infighting in the brutal Zetas organization.

After six years of drug-related violence in Mexico, fewer and fewer regions can claim to be “unaffected” by the violence. Continue reading →

3 women shot to death with assault rifles in central Mexico; 8 bodies found in western Mexico

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUGUST 18, 2012

MEXICO CITY – Police found the bodies of three women who were shot to death early Saturday with assault rifles on a roadside in the central Mexico state of Morelos.

The women were believed to be between the ages of 20 and 25, though they had not been identified. Two of the women had their hands tied behind their backs. One was wearing only a blouse.

The Morelos state prosecutors’ office said 15 spent shells from assault rifles were found at the scene. Continue reading →

#YoSoy132 Morelia announces erection of Emiliano Zapata monument

Atsiri Macias / Quadratín 08.08.2012

MORELIA., Mich., Aug. 8, 2012. – The citizens’ movement YoSoy132 Morelia, is planning to erect a monument in honour of one of the greatest military leaders during the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata Salazar.

The team of Yosoy132 arts and culture experts developed the monument project for Zapata’s hundred and thirty-third birthday.

Benjamin Mendoza Madrigal, a spokesperson for the movement in Morelia, said, “we will send an official letter to municipal and state governments requesting a place for the monument. We intend to send out an open call for sculptors to participate in its creation.” Continue reading →

Violence and threats against students

Mexico: # YoSoy132 activists report harassment

Sara König in Mexico City

Even after Enrique Peña Nieto won the presidential election in Mexico, the student movement #YoSoy132 continue their demonstrations against election fraud and big media corporations. But the protests have become more dangerous. More and more the activists are subjected to arrests, threats and physical attacks. Security forces responded to the protests against Peña Nieto’s establishment with tear gas and warning shots. At a “# YoSoy132” demonstration in Oaxaca on July 22nd, 25 young men and women were beaten and abused by officials. In prison, the students were sexually harassed by the police. One student was even said to have been tortured with electric shocks. Continue reading →