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Feminicide in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Sjaak - 22.01.2011 12:35
Het mislukte experiment 'Ciudad Juárez'; Een knooppunt van een snel toenemend aantal 'maquila's', een flessenhals van NAFTA, milieudegradatie, mensenhandel, drugs- en wapensmokkel, assemblage van misdaden tegen vrouwen, journalisten, arbeiders en immigranten. Een labyrint van ambtelijke ontsporing, politieke corruptie, gerechtelijke dwalingen en relatief nieuwe sociale netwerken die in haar kiemen gesmoord worden.
 the Killing Fields -
Impunity to Feminicide -
La Voz de Esperanza I -
IAHR -
Documentaries -
Waiting for Justice -
AI 2003 -
Hum Rights 2008 -
Maquila feminicide -
Feminicides Mexico-Guatemala (WOLO) -
Recentelijk zijn in Mexico weer twee vrouwen vermoord die zich inzette voor mensenrechten en tegen de feminicide in Chihuahua. Hoewel er veel aandacht is voor hun overlijden, lijken de daders zich daar niet veel van aan te trekken. Immuniteit van geweld, mn. corruptie.
 http://ww4report.com/node/9275#comment-322917
http://www.rnw.nl/espanol/article/susana-chavez-la-sobreviven-sus-poemas
http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/search?q=ciudad+juarez
http://www.latimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=ciudad+juarez&target=article
http://elpincheholandes.nl/2011/01/cynisch-cynischer-pri/comment-page-1/#comment-1027
http://cpj.org/blog/2010/09/paper-will-curb-coverage-to-protect-reporters-live.php
http://www.rnw.nl/nederlands/search/apachesolr_search/Ciudad%20Juárez
http://www.guardian.co.uk/search?q=ciudad+juarez§ion=
https://nacla.org/search/node/ciudad+juarez
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=5AB197BCEE37D92D80256FB600689A74
Laura Carlsen schreef op 20 januari 2011 in 'The Murdered Women of Juarez':
"The only ray of light has come from the response of Mexican civil society. Following Marisela’s murder, a former head of one of the government commissions, Alicia Duarte, wrote in an open letter to President Calderon:
"Three years ago, when I quit my post as Special Prosecutor for Attention to Crimes Related to Acts of Violence Against Women of the Attorney General’s Office, I noted clearly that I did it out of the shame I felt for belonging to the corrupt system of justice of our country. Today that shame comes back and burns in my skin and conscience, so I must join in the indignation of all women in this country who, when they found out about the assassination of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz and the attacks on her family of the recent days, demand justice…"."
In: http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/3895
Een provinciaals grensstadje is de gevaarlijkste stad ter wereld geworden.
Vanaf 1968 zijn de Mexicaanse Piramide(s) in verval: https://nacla.org/node/4696
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB307/index.htm
Ook in Guatemala worden bijzonder veel vrouwen worden vermoord. Toeval of ook het resultaat van decennia-lange repressie:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/guatemala704/
http://www.casa-alianza.org.uk/northsouth/CasaWeb.nsf/CasaNews/Amnesty_Violence_Women?OpenDocument
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| Lees meer over: feminisme globalisering media vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten | | aanvullingen | | Div Doc. | Sjaak - 22.01.2011 14:38
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| | Mexican Military Raids Social Organizations | Kristin Bricker - 23.01.2011 10:36
Mexican Military Raids Social Organization’s Office
Written by Kristin Bricker
Thursday, 20 January 2011 21:04
On Tuesday, January 11, at about 6:45 pm, the Mexican Army raided the Oaxaca City office of the Committee for the Defense of the People's Rights (CODEP) and the Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights (CODEM). According to CODEP members who were present during the raid, approximately 20 uniformed soldiers in an official vehicle pulled up in front of the organizations' building, broke down a makeshift sheet metal door, and searched their offices. After the soldiers broke down the door, they held CODEP member Patrocino Martinez at gunpoint. Martinez says that he demanded a search warrant, but that the soldiers pushed him and rushed up the stairs of the building, which is currently under construction.
Other members of the organization managed to lock the doors of the offices that contained their computers, copiers, and files, so the soldiers were unable to search those offices. However, the soldiers entered other unlocked offices, which included a dormitory and a screen-printing workshop. According to Martinez, the soldiers took photos of those offices. However, the soldiers did not remove any items from the building, nor did they make any arrests.
see more:
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/2872-mexican-military-raids-social-organizations-office
| | The Truth Under the Earth | Colm McNaughton - 23.01.2011 12:04
The Truth Under the Earth: The Relationship Between Genocide and Femicide in Guatemala
Written by Colm McNaughton
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 13:03
The war in Guatemala has never ceased. While the Peace Accords signed in 1996 demobilized some combatants and weapons - the killing, raping and torturing continues unabated. In 2009 the homicide rate for Guatemala, with a population of 13 million, is about 8,000 per year. Of these 8,000 murders approximately 10 percent are women and girls.
According to figures from Guatemala City based women's group Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres (GGM) between January 2002 and January 2009 there were 197,538 acts of domestic violence, 13,895 rapes and 4,428 women were murdered. What is perhaps even more disturbing is that for this tsunami of violence there is a 97 percent impunity rate. One of the main reasons for near total impunity in the Guatemalan context is that the people responsible for the genocidal civil war against indigenous people in which 200,000 people were murdered and 50,000 disappeared have never, nor are they ever likely to be held accountable.
In August and September of 2009 I visited Guatemala, at least in part, to examine how the civil war has been superseded by an as yet undeclared social war, part of which is an ongoing femicide.
see more:
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/2174-the-truth-under-the-earth-the-relationship-between-genocide-and-femicide-in-guatemala
-------------------
Centre for Forensic Analysis and Scientific Application (CAFTA)
see:
http://www.cafcaguatemala.org/web/index.php
Guatemala the grave
COLM MCNAUGHTON SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=16544
see also:
The Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala, FAFG) was formed in 1992 with the aim of helping to uncover the truth about the numerous massacres and killings carried out during the internal armed conflict (1960-1996). In 2002 and 2006 the Guatemalan government was asked to provide protection for members of FAFG and their relatives. However, the protection provided appears to have been inadequate. Investigations into the threats against FAFG members have not progressed and no-one has yet been brought to justice for sending them.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR34/019/2008/en
http://www.fafg.org/Ingles/paginas/FAFG.html
----------------
Since EAAF was founded, other forensic anthropology teams have been established in Chile (1989), Guatemala (1991), and Peru (2001). Today, the Latin American teams exchange members for cross-training and occasionally work together on foreign missions. Notable among the latter have been the United Nations War Crimes Tribunals in former Yugoslavia. In February 2003, members of these teams and other forensic anthropologists working in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela gathered to form the Association of Latin American Forensic Anthropologists.
http://eaaf.typepad.com/founding_of_eaaf/
| | Oaxaca as a ‘Laboratory of Repression’ | Peter Watt - 23.01.2011 12:26
Oaxaca as a ‘Laboratory of Repression’
Interview with Human Rights Defender Alba Cruz
Written by Peter Watt and Alba Cruz
Thursday, 11 November 2010 19:34
Following the 2006 uprising in the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, the official crackdown on dissidents, social movements and human rights defenders reached unprecedented proportions. Human rights organizations note with alarm that the presence of around 50,000 military and police personnel patrolling the streets and controlling much of civilian life – often under the pretext of a war on narcotrafficking – has made Oaxaca and the rest of Mexico increasingly dangerous.
Alba Cruz, a human rights lawyer working with the Comité de Liberación 25 de Noviembre de Oaxaca, has experienced the climate of fear and intimidation first-hand. Since taking on over 100 cases relating to human rights violations in Oaxaca, which include the murder, torture and forced disappearance of activists, continual threats have been made to her personal safety. She represented Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, the man wrongly convicted (and subsequently released in February 2010) of the murder of US independent journalist and political activist, Brad Will. Eyewitness accounts suggest that Will was shot by police dressed in civilian clothing.
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/2777-oaxaca-as-a-laboratory-of-repression-interview-with-human-rights-defender-alba-cruz
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Mexican human rights lawyer Alba Cruz has received a new intimidatory text message on her mobile phone. This is part of a pattern of death threats and harassment against her in an attempt to stop her from defending victims of torture and unfounded prosecution in Oaxaca State. Her life could be at risk.
see also (Date Published: 12 January 2011):
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR41/001/2011/en
| | La Frontera | Colm McNaughton - 23.01.2011 12:38
The borderlands between Mexico and the United States are a lawless wasteland where massacres, drug busts and battles between the military and drug-traffickers happen regularly.
Juarez has one of the highest murder rates in the world, including more than 100 young women whose random murders can't be explained or solved. Colm McNaughton journeys through La Frontera to piece together the different aspects of this complex, sad and violent story.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/360/stories/2010/2844252.htm
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2010/04/tsy_20100403_1405.mp3
| | State of Exception and 'Insurgents' | Los Alamos - 23.01.2011 17:23
MEXICO: ARTICLE 29 'STATE OF EXCEPTION' --
UNCERTAIN RESULTS, FEW BENEFITS
¶1. (S/NF) Summary. Defense Secretary Galvan raised recently the possibility of invoking Article 29 of the constitution to declare a state of exception in certain areas of the country that would provide more solid legal grounds for the military's role in the domestic counternarcotics (CN) fight. Secretary of Government Gomez Mont has alternately provided a different view, citing a Supreme Court decision as sufficient precedent for providing the military the legal basis for its domestic CN activities. Our analysis suggests that the legal benefits to invoking a state of exception are uncertain at best, and the political costs appear high.
(..)
¶10. (C) Benefits to an Article 29 strategy would be limited. If written correctly and approved by Congress, it could give the military a temporary legal cover for its activities and perhaps allow it to focus more on operations and less on its critics. Notable Mexico legal experts have envisioned the employment of Article 29 only in the case of a "firestorm," such as local or state governments rejecting military assistance in areas where the GOM sees it as badly needed. Galvan's views are more reflective of the military's desire for legal protections on human rights and other grounds, than of any imminent legal or political challenges to the military's current domestic counternarcotics role. Clearly, Calderon is looking for new tools with which to fight increased levels of violence in places like Ciudad Juarez, but any benefits he would gain with an Article 29 state of exception would be undermined by the high political costs of such an approach.
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/10/09MEXICO3101.html
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SUBJECT: DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DENNIS BLAIR'S
MEETING WITH GENERAL GALVAN GALVAN, OCTOBER 19
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Gustavo Delgado.
Reason: 1.4 (b),(d).
¶1. (S/NF) Summary. DNI Dennis Blair met with Defense Secretary General Guillermo Galvan Galvan on October 19 on the heels of meetings with President Calderon and members of his national security team (ref a and b). The discussion focused largely on the military's role in the counternarcotics fight, with Galvan lamenting a likely lengthy domestic mandate, the need for improved translation of intelligence into operations, and his mistrust of other GOM security elements. Galvan is clearly seeking cooperation from the USG to strengthen his institution's capacity to fight drug trafficking organizations, but will try to keep military actions in its own channels rather than working more broadly with Mexico's law enforcement community.
End summary.
¶2. (S/NF) To open the discussion with General Galvan Galvan and high-ranking members of his intel team, DNI Blair recognized the challenges a military confronts when it has to fight a war -- in this case against drug trafficking organizations -- within its own country. In response to the DNI's question on how the GOM can make the transition away from the armed forces to a strictly civilian counternarcotics domestic fight, Galvan said that he does not currently see a quick end to their internal deployment. He indicated that the effort is difficult for the military, in part due to the perception that they lack the legal framework to back their deployment.
(..)
He noted SEDENA should improve vertical communication on intelligence matters, and said they would be willing to accept any training the USG can offer. Galvan complained that joint operations with law enforcement entities are challenging because leaks of planning and information by corrupted officials have compromised past efforts. Bringing police, particularly at the state and local level, up to standard will be challenging and a prolonged process. Galvan said that SEDENA's permanent deployment of two officers to the El Paso Intelligence Center will help to disseminate rapidly information to the Ciudad Juarez commander.
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/10/09MEXICO3077.html
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ELEMENTS OF GOM POLICY TEAM INTERESTED IN FOCUSING
TOGETHER ON IMPROVING SECURITY IN A FEW KEY CITIES
¶8. (C) Instead, he believes, we need to confront the cities with the largest insecurity and fix them. If we could turn around Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, and one other city such as Culiacan, it would solve 60% of the violence, and send a signal to the Mexican people that the war can be won. Politically, he and Gutierrez said, Mexico must succeed in Juarez because Calderon has staked so much of his reputation there, with a major show of force that, to date, has not panned out. Even if it is not completely solved by the time Calderon leaves office, if they can get things moving in the right direction, setting the conditions for ultimate success, it will be enough.
(..)
¶10. (C) In addition to the intelligence and operational cooperation that would be at the heart of the new approach, Gutierrez and Tello Peon mentioned the importance of cultural and political factors. Politically, Mexico may have a federal system, Gutierrez said, but historically it has been more centralized like Colombia or France. The federal government, however, no longer has the ability to manage the system from top to bottom. He suggested it would be necessary for success to break through the impasse produced by Mexico,s currently dysfunctional federal system and ensure programs can be synchronized with the states. Tello Peon also said there will be a need to work on the cultural factors required to produce a &culture of lawfulness8 that would mobilize the societal support necessary for success. Culture and politics will be very complex, he said, but can be made to work. A clearly articulated and strong doctrine will help get people behind the strategy.
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/10/09MEXICO2882.html
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MEXICAN NAVY OPERATION NETS DRUG KINGPIN ARTURO
BELTRAN LEYVA
REF: MONTERREY 000453
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Gustavo Delgado.
Reason: 1.4 (b),(d).
¶1. (S) Summary. Mexican Navy forces acting on U.S. information killed Arturo Beltran Leyva in an operation on December 16, the highest-level takedown of a cartel figure under the Calderon administration. The operation is a clear victory for the Mexican Government and an example of excellent USG-GOM cooperation. The unit that conducted the operation had recieved extensive U.S. training. Arturo Beltran Leyva's death will not solve Mexico's drug problem, but it will hopefully generate the momentum necessary to make sustained progress against other drug trafficking organizations. End Summary.
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/12/09MEXICO3573.html
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Scenesetter for the Opening of the Defense Bilateral Working
Group, Washington, D.C., February 1 2010
Classified Secret.
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The inauguration of the Defense Bilateral Working Group (DBWG) on February 1 comes at a key moment in our efforts to deepen our bilateral relationship and to support the Mexican military’s nascent steps toward modernization. On the heels of our bilateral joint assessments in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, as well as the GOM’s move to replace the military with the Federal Police as lead security agency in Juarez, the DBWG can help ensure that the GOM stays focused on making the kinds of institutional improvements - including greater attention to human rights and broader regional participation - that are needed to bolster its effectiveness in the immediate fight against organized crime, and to position it to become a twenty first century military in one of the leading democracies in the region. End
Summary
¶2. (SBU) The DBWG is an important component of our overall bilateral Merida strategy for 2010. We ended 2009 with an unprecedented commitment from the Mexican government to work closely with us on an ambitious effort to move beyond a singular focus on high value targets and address some of the institutional and socio-economic constraints that threaten to undermine our efforts to combat the cartels. A truly joint effort to implement a new U.S.-Mexico strategy is yielding stronger organizational structures and interagency cooperation on both sides and a deeper understanding of the threat posed by the drug trafficking organizations. In the coming year, we will help Mexico institutionalize civilian law enforcement capabilities and phase down the military’s role in conducting traditional and police functions. The DBWG will also provide a vehicle for Washington to brief the GOM on the importance of human rights issues to U.S. security policy, thus reinforcing a new formal Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with the GOM that will include SEDENA and SEMAR.
Political and Economic Context
-----------------------------------------
¶3. (SBU) It is a challenging moment to address some of the institutional weaknesses that dot the Mexican political landscape and which periodically impede our larger efforts. President Calderon has entered the last three years of his six-year term facing a complicated political and economic environment. His National Action Party (PAN) emerged seriously weakened from a dramatic set-back suffered in the July congressional elections and was unable to recoup any real momentum during the last legislative session.
(..)
Security Challenges
-------------------------
¶5. (C) Calderon has aggressively attacked Mexico’s drug trafficking organizations but has struggled with an unwieldy and uncoordinated interagency and spiraling rates of violence that have made him vulnerable to criticism that his anti-crime strategy has failed. Indeed, the GOM’s inability to halt the escalating numbers of narco-related homicides in places like Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere - the nationwide total topped 7,700 in 2009 - has become one of Calderon’s principal political liabilities as the general public has grown more concerned about citizen security. Mexican security institutions are often locked in a zero-sum competition in which one agency’s success is viewed as another’s failure, information is closely guarded, and joint operations are all but unheard of. Official corruption is widespread, leading to a compartmentalized siege mentality among “clean” law enforcement leaders and their lieutenants. Prosecution rates for organized crime-related offenses are dismal; two percent of those detained are brought to trail. Only 2 percent of those arrested in Ciudad Juarez have even been charged with a crime.
¶6. (S) The failure to reduce violence has focused attention on the military’s perceived failures and led to a major course change in January to switch the overall command in Ciudad Juarez from the military to the federal police. The military was not trained to patrol the streets or carry out law enforcement operations. It does not have the authority to collect and introduce evidence into the judicial system. The result: arrests skyrocketed, prosecutions remained flat, and both the military and public have become increasingly frustrated. The command change in Juarez has been seen by political classes and the public as a Presidential repudiation of SEDENA. When SEDENA joins you at the DBWG, it will be an agency smarting from the very public statement of a lack of confidence in its performance record in Juarez.
¶7. (C) Below the surface of military professionalism, there is also considerable tension between SEDENA and SEMAR. SEMAR succeeded in the take down of Arturo Beltran Leyva, as well as with other major targets. Aside from the perceived failure of its mission in Juarez, SEDENA has come to be seen slow and risk averse even where it should succeed: the mission to capture HVTs. The risk is that the more SEDENA is criticized, the more risk averse it will become. The challenge you face in the DBWG is to convince them that modernization and not withdrawal are the way forward, and that transparency and accountability are fundamental to modernization. There is no alternative in today’s world of information technology.
¶8. (C) The DBWG is just one mechanism for addressing the challenge of modernization. SEDENA’s shortfalls are at times quite noticeable and serve for dramatic charges on human rights and other grounds. We have actively sought to encourage respect for the military’s role in Mexican society and tread carefully with regard to the larger theme of military modernization. What SEDENA, and to a lesser extent SEMAR, need most is a comprehensive, interactive discussion that will encourage them to look holistically at culture, training and doctrine in a way that will support modernization and allow them to address a wider range of military missions. This is where the DBWG can help.
¶9. (C) Currently, the military is the lightening rod for criticism of the Calderon Administration’s security policies. We are having some success in influencing the GOM to transition the military to secondary support functions in Juarez. Still, the GOM’s capacity to replicate the Juarez model is limited. They simply lack the necessary numbers of trained federal police to deploy them in such numbers in more than a few cities. There are changes in the way that the military can interact with vetted municipal police, as we have seen in Tijuana, that produce better results. But in the near term, there is no escaping that the military will play a role in public security.
¶10. (C) Military surges that are not coordinated with local city officials and civilian law enforcement, particularly local prosecutors, have not worked. In Ciudad Juarez, a dramatic increase in troop deployments to the city early last year brought a two-month reduction in violence levels before narcotics-related violence spiked again. The DTOs are sophisticated players: they can wait out a military deployment; they have an almost unlimited human resource pool to draw from in the marginalized neighborhoods; and they can fan complaints about human rights violations to undermine any progress the military might make with hearts and minds.
¶11. (SBU) SEDENA lacks arrest authority and is incapable of processing information and evidence for use in judicial cases. It has taken a serious beating on human rights issues from international and domestic human rights organizations, who argue with considerable basis, in fact that the military is ill-equipped for a domestic policing role. While SEDENA has moved to address human rights criticisms, its efforts are mechanistic and wrapped in a message that often transmits defensiveness about bringing a hermetically sealed military culture into the twenty-first century. The military justice system (fuero militar) is used not only for a legitimate prosecutorial function, but also to preserve the military’s institutional independence. Even the Mexican Supreme Court will not claim civilian jurisdiction over crimes involving the military, regardless of whether a military mission is involved. Fortunately, the Mexican military is under increasing pressure to change on a number of fronts. A recent Inter-American Human Rights Court ruling found Article 57 of Mexico’s code of military justice, which effectively allows the military to keep all violators within its own justice system, violate Mexico’s constitution and mandated improvements in the way cases involving alleged human rights abuses by the military are handled. A report issued by Amnesty International in December noted that complaints to the National Commission on Human Rights against the military increased from 367 in 2007 to over 2000 from 2008-June 2009.
(..)
¶12. (SBU) Calderon has undertaken serious reforms since coming to office, but he also must tread carefully in dealing with the Mexican military. With our help, he has refined his anti-crime strategy and made significant progress in a number of important areas, including inaugurating a new Federal Police command and intelligence center, establishing stronger vetting mechanisms for security officials, and constructing information-sharing databases to provide crime fighting data to various federal, state, and local elements. Calderon also has recognized that the blunt-force approach of major military deployments has not curbed violence in zones like Ciudad Juarez, and has replaced SEDENA forces with Federal Police officers as the lead security agency in urban Ciudad Juarez.
¶13. (C) These steps reflect the GOM’s willingness to respond to public pressure and to focus on building strong, civilian law enforcement institutions that are necessary for sustained success against organized crime in Mexico. Indeed, Public Security Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna has sought to raise the standards of his Federal Police so it is capable of gradually replacing the military’s role in public security through improved hiring, training, and vetting practices. With new authorities granted under federal police reform legislation passed last year, including a broadened wire-tapping mandate, the SSP is well-placed to significantly expand its investigative and intelligence-collection capabilities. The GOM is exploring new ways to bring local and state police up to standards to support the anti-crime fight. Federal judicial reform has been slower in coming, but the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) is looking to modernize as an institution. For example, PGR created with USG assistance the Constanza Project (Justicia Para Todos), a $200 million dollar initiative designed to transform PGR’s culture, in part by promoting transparency, training attorneys to build stronger cases, and digitizing files in order to incorporate a paperless system less susceptible to corruption.
(..)
¶17. (C) SEDENA and SEMAR still have a long way to go toward modernization. The DBWG can go a long way in addressing a number of key points. We have seen some general officers, in Tijuana for example, who are looking for ways to build links between units in the field and local prosecutors, but this has not been done systematically. It needs to be encouraged. Encouraging the Mexican military to participate more actively in the international arena, such as through greater security cooperation outreach to Central America and Colombia, and even with limited participation in regional humanitarian ops to possibly peacekeeping, will also be key to helping the military transition from a mentality of “Protecting the Revolution” to a more active, dynamic, and flexible force. SEDENA and SEMAR share the parochial, risk-averse habits that often plague their civilian counterparts in Mexican law enforcement agencies. While the Navy’s capture of Beltran Leyva may up the ante and encourage innovation by competition between security services, both SEDENA and SEMAR have serious work to do on working more effectively and efficiently with their security partners. FEELEY
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2010/01/10MEXICO83.html
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Crosspost: Mexico’s ‘Insurgency’ Triggers Diplomatic Furor
By Sean Goforth
Thursday, September 23 9:56 am EST
The diplomatic furor over Hillary Clinton’s use of the word ‘insurgency’ to describe the current situation in Mexico, and the speedy rejection of the term by President Felipe Calderon and the Obama Administration, has only added fuel to a fire Mexico appears unable to put out.
In remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations (9/8/10), Clinton said:
“We face an increasing threat from a well-organized network, a drug-trafficking threat that is, in some cases, morphing into or making common cause with what we would consider an insurgency.”
Don’t Rock the Boat
For the past two decades, Washington’s take on the trafficking situation in Mexico has been fairly simple and straightforward: according to the US government, Mexico’s drug cartels are in it for the money, for the buck, for profit alone. We know their kind.
The solution (including the Merida Initiative) has been to offer the government of Mexico millions in support of various counter-drug initiatives that officials in both countries swear are effective in combating drug-trafficking, eliminating money laundering, and in curbing the power and influence of regional drug cartels.
It’s the US and Mexican governments versus ruthless, greedy narco-traffickers, and in this ‘bad-guys/good guys’ scenario, the two governments work mano-a-mano toward common goals–eliminating drug trafficking and nurturing trade relationships (Mexico is our second-largest trading partner, a priority in tough economic times).
The US supplies financial support for counter-drug programs and technical expertise. Mexico continues to report progress–ongoing arrests of traffickers and significant encounters between police/military and cartel gangs.
(..)
The last US investigation into drug trafficking and money laundering in Mexico,Operation Casablanca, was a bottom-up operation that eventually led federal agents to high-value and highly-placed targets within the Mexican government.
Mexico claimed that the US had failed to provide Mexican authorities with a pre-brief on the aims and methods of the investigation, and demanded that the US shut down the investigation.
(..)
The term ‘insurgency’ speaks to a larger problem, and to responses neither the US nor the Mexican government is eager to discuss.
(..)
Right now, Felipe Calderon is scrambling to admit ‘the ferocity’ of the drug violence in Mexico, coming clean soon enough, he hopes, to head off any impulsive proposals the US State Department might conjure up as a remedy to an ‘insurgent threat’ in Mexico.
President Obama is on the same train, assuring America that Mexico does not, in any way, resemble Colombia twenty years ago. We don’t need a ‘Plan Colombia,’ requiring big investments and significant US intervention, in Mexico.
With enough time and money, we are told, Mexico’s government and the military can take care of the problem themselves.
http://mexico.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/09/23/crosspost-mexico’s-‘insurgency’-triggers-diplomatic-furor/
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Archives for Mexico Crime
http://mexico.foreignpolicyblogs.com/category/mexico-crime/page/4/
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Department of Justice, Mexico
http://justiceinmexico.org/category/corruption/
http://justiceinmexico.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/2010-09-september_news_report1.pdf
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http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/mexico/
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/torture_archive/index.htm
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/guatemala/index.htm
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/2285-the-incessant-search-for-the-disappeared-exhumation-in-villalobos
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/08/03-8
http://www.plannersnetwork.org/publications/2006_Spring/vasquez.html
https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391877.html
http://www.grass-roots-press.com/2010/09/30/human-rights-news-resisting-femicide-ciudad-juarez’s-woman-of-steel/
| | “Yes, but you´re still screwed.” | Sjaak - 26.01.2011 00:29
PBI Mexico - 2010, No. 2 -
PBI Guatemala 2010, First, No. 20 -
JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF FORCED DISAPPEARANCE
ROSENDO RADILLA PACHECO, CASE No. 12,511
“My father asked the soldiers, “What am I accused of?” And they answered, “Composing songs.”
So he said, “That’s not a crime,” and the soldiers answered, “Yes, but you´re still screwed.”
Rosendo Radilla Martínez, son of Rosendo Radilla Pacheco and witness to his arrest. The ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the forced disappearance of Rosendo Radilla Pacheco is the first resolution in which of an international tribunal declared the Mexican State guilty of a crime against humanity involving military personnel acting against civilians. Rosendo Radilla Pacheco was the victim of forced disappearance in August 1974. A social justice activist and mayor of the municipality of Atoyac de Álvarez in Guerrero, he was arrested at a military checkpoint whilst travelling with his youngest son. One of the last known facts about him his whereabouts was his transfer to Military Base No. 1 in Mexico City. Other individuals detained with him stated that Mr Radilla Pacheco was tortured while in detention. His forced disappearance is a paradigmatic case as, with its extensive documentation, it exemplifies what has occurred in many other, less well documented cases.
Ruling in Radilla Pacheco vs. Mexico
In November 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) found the Mexican State responsible for the forced disappearance of Rosendo Radilla, the violation of the right to due process, and his relatives’ right of access to justice. The ruling highlights the fact that the disappearance occurred in a broader context of human rights violations in the period known as “the Dirty War”. The IACtHR declared that the use of military tribunals, and the reservations made by the Mexican State to the Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, are incompatible with relevant international standars and the Court’s own jurisprudence.
In:
MEXICO BEFORE THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT - PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL
2010 Nº2, OCTOBER - MEXICO PROJECT - NEWSLETTER, p. 5.
----------------
PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL
GUATEMALA PROJECT
First Bulletin 2010 • No. 20
States of prevention:
a solution or a cause of violence?
Pages. 9 - 13
Women, land and territory: fighting violence and defending rights
Pages. 2 - 4
Women’s achievements
Perhaps one of the most significant achievements has been the change in the consciousness of women themselves. Irma Lucia Gutiérrez says even though they face discrimination for being women, poor and illiterate – and have even been told that because they are women they lack knowledge, do not know their rights and are not capable of organising themselves – women value themselves and are more aware of what they want. They know they are capable and independent. “It is very important that we become stronger ourselves, as individuals. Many women believe that they are worthless, and there are men who abuse their wives and daughters, but men and women are equal. Women are not only made for the kitchen; we have to leave it and say that we have had enough violence.”
See:
http://www.peacebrigades.org/
| | No Solution for Causes: more (corrupt) police | Wiki-Juarez2010.US - 27.01.2011 13:19
10MEXICO111 2010-02-18 00:12 2011-01-23 21:09 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Mexico
VZCZCXRO6219
OO RUEHRS
DE RUEHME #0111/01 0490007
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 180007Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0504
INFO ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CDR USNORTHCOM PETERSON AFB CO IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 000111
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
WHA DAS JACOBSON, DIRECTOR LEE.
NSC FOR RESTREPO AND O'REILLY.
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/17
TAGS: PINR PREL PGOV MX
SUBJECT: DHS SECRETARY NAPOLITANO'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT CALDERON,
FEBRUARY 17
REF: 09 MEXICO 3573; 10 TIJUANA 35; 10 MEXICO 518
CLASSIFIED BY: Gustavo Delgado, Minister Counselor, DOS, POL; REASON:
1.4(B), (D)
¶1. (C) Summary. Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano met with President Felipe Calderon on February 17 for over an hour-long discussion that ranged in topic from aviation security issues to counternarcotics cooperation. The bulk of the discussion focused on the GOM's plans for Ciudad Juarez and the need for U.S. assistance in trying to combat organized crime and lower violence in the city. There is a new opportunity in Juarez to mobilize civil society to make progress in dealing with the city's security woes. President Calderon underscored that every measure be taken to re-establish authority in Juarez and reclaim public spaces, and engage communities to combat violence. He thanked the U.S. for its support on developing the Juarez plan and asked for continued engagement to share intelligence and operational advice. End Summary.
¶2. (C) The discussion opened with aviation security issues. Secretary Napolitano conveyed her appreciation for Mexico's coordination of a regional conference on aviation security, and said that the Christmas day events in Detroit must be used to increase global standards. Once terrorists enter international air networks, they can move anywhere. Thus, we must build the capacity of all countries. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) must help build capacity and raise standards, particularly in the weakest nations. President Calderon said that there is no alternative but to push for global cooperation and to increase Latin America's capacity. Iran, he noted, is focusing on places like Venezuela to establish operations. Bolivia and Ecuador are also vulnerable. Calderon is also concerned that organized criminal groups may try to establish contacts with terrorists. He cited the nexus between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and organized crime in Colombia as an example. Secretary Napolitano responded that, although we have not seen evidence to this effect, the potential is there, and this is all the more reason to share information on passengers and screening technology, as well as assist countries in their efforts to upgrade. Calderon also noted that the Mexican Army (SEDENA) and Air Force are looking for three dimensional radars to better detect illicit air traffic.
¶3. (C) Most of the rest of the discussion focused on the status of Mexico's counternarcotics fight, the way ahead in Ciudad Juarez, and how the United States can support these efforts. In response to Secretary Napolitano's question on the status of Mexico's battle against the cartels, Calderon noted that Mexico in the past several months has seen positive results, including the December takedown of Arturo Beltran Leyva in Cuernavaca (ref a) and the January arrest of Diego Teodoro Garcia Simental ("El Teo") in Tijuana (ref b). He said that Mexico's capacity for joint interagency operations is improving, but that there are still some problems with execution. Calderon highlighted the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) in particular as more aptly handling intelligence, but also said that the Public Security Secretariat's (SSP) Federal Police and SEDENA are making progress. The President said that with U.S. support, Mexican security services are obtaining more effective access to counternarcotics targets.
¶4. (C) Calderon focused attention on the violence problem in Ciudad Juarez. He said that Mexico finds itself in a critical moment following the January 31 Salvarcar massacre of fifteen youths (ref c). This is an opportunity, he continued, to mobilize civil society and for the GOM to respond to public pressure that something be done in the city. Mexico needs the right USG counterparts, and Calderon asked whether the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) might fill that role. Secretary Napolitano responded that EPIC can help to identify the right organized crime targets, but that Mexico must move beyond military deployments and establish a police capacity in Ciudad Juarez capable of policing every block and street. Social services and rule of law must also be extended throughout the city. Secretary Napolitano promised that the USG will assist in any way we can. Ciudad Juarez's struggles with violence have become emblematic of the challenge confronting Mexico and the menace of organized crime.
¶5. (C) President Calderon embarked on a discussion of the historical and societal factors that led to Ciudad Juarez's record levels of violence - up to 40 percent of Mexico's capital crime occurs in Juarez or Chihuahua. Among these key factors, Calderon said Juarez's position as a primary border crossing and rapid growth have contributed to the crime quandary. The societal fabric is weak. Tens of thousands of families moved to Juarez from all over Mexico. Many of these new families were headed by single mothers with unsupervised children who turned to drug consumption and crime rather than school. Juarez's transition from a city on a critical trafficking route to also being a main consumption center has contributed to the growth in other crimes, including extortion and kidnapping. Additionally, Calderon observed that up until about three years ago, the Juarez cartel controlled the city. More recently, the Sinaloa cartel has moved in to try to claim the territory, which has pitted the two organizations against each other and caused them to recruit gangs to fight their battles. A comprehensive solution to the violence problem is complex, Calderon said, and has to address the city's social ills, economic development, health services, and the corrupt police and court system. The President exhorted that Mexico and the United States work together.
¶6. (C) Secretary Napolitano said that Ciudad Juarez's proximity to the United States has drawn U.S. attention to the violence problem and underscored the need to establish the rule of law and a real civilian police presence. As the United States learned with New York and Los Angeles, a visible police presence assigned to specific areas is key, and people must be arrested for even minor offenses to get criminals off the streets. Calderon noted that Ciudad Juarez - with assistance - is in the process of renewing the municipal police, and indicated that he favors the "Bratton approach" to the city (Note: New York Transit Police Chief William Bratton in the early 1990s applied a "zero tolerance" anti-crime strategy based on the "Broken Windows" theory, which proposes that attention to and a reduction in low-level crime will also help prevent major crime). Calderon said the government must establish real enforcement of the law and a sense of authority in Juarez. The government cannot, as some advocate, make concessions on more minor crimes, like illegal vehicles, to focus only on the major issues.
¶7. (C) Calderon said Operation Joint Chihuahua only temporarily reduced crime after the new troop and Federal Police deployment in March 2009, but then crime exploded as kids fought each other on the street to control the drug trade. Now, the GOM is making important policy decisions. It has augmented the Federal Police in Juarez and has given the SSP primary responsibility for security in the city. The President underscored the continued need for an Army presence, but noted that its role has shifted to mostly patrolling the outskirts. Mexico needs to focus on building civilian institutions, as well as developing a more robust intelligence capacity. The GOM is launching a program to reclaim public spaces like parks and soccer fields.
¶8. (C) Secretary Napolitano and Ambassador Pascual reviewed the strong U.S. commitment to provide support. Representatives from EPIC have been going daily to the Federal Police command and control center to assess mechanisms to transmit operational intelligence. A comprehensive planning session in El Paso the week of February 22 will test every aspect of the GOM plan. The U.S. will produce a complementary plan to provide support, including ties to U.S. law enforcement agencies across the border. We will also look at secure communications, training and vetting for municipal police, building prosecutable cases, and planning support for a comprehensive GOM socioeconomic revitalization program.
¶9. (C) The discussion then focused on Mexico's southern border. President Calderon said the USG can help as Mexico intensifies its Southern Border Strategy. Secretary Napolitano noted that the Guatemalan border's dense vegetation and terrain make patrolling difficult and asked whether there are areas to the north in which Mexico can create a choke point for inspections. Calderon indicated that this, indeed, is how they are working, and Secretary of Government Fernando Gomez Mont said that checkpoints are being used at Mexico's more narrow isthmus. USG and GOM officials noted the entrance of Somalis, Eritreans, and even Iranians through the southern border. Calderon underscored that the use of technology - including non-intrusive inspections of vehicles and radars - are necessary for border control. He does not want to continually employ the Army and other forces in such pursuits in fear that they will be corrupted. Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations, Patricia Espinosa, said that Guatemala is open to regional security cooperation, but the Guatemalan government itself acknowledged that its team is fragile. Calderon suggested that vetting and checkpoints in Guatemala would be a start, and indicated his concern about criminals smuggling people from Guatemala to the northern border. These smugglers extort migrants with relatives in the United States, and kill those who do not.
¶10. (C) The meeting concluded with a final discussion of Juarez and cooperation on the capture of high-value counternarcotics targets. Calderon asked for advice on police professionalization, and help with all aspects of Juarez's municipal police apparatus. Secretary Napolitano said that Juarez can still be economically competitive. Its border location is a huge and unique asset. But security is a major factor affecting investment. The federal and municipal police must become effective first responders to public safety concerns. Both the U.S. and Mexico have a shared interest, and we committed to work effectively and rapidly to curb the violence in Juarez and assert the state's authority to sustain the rule of law.
PASCUAL
| | Witness of the Ruthless Officials in Juárez | Moira - 27.01.2011 15:01
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Hidden Side of Violence in Ciudad Juárez: Student Shot by Federal Police
-----------------------------------------------------------
“Ciudad Juárez won’t be a big deal. You spent two years in Colombia!” my friend reassures me.
“Yeah,” I reply with nervous knots in my stomach, “but isn’t Juárez one of the most dangerous cities in the world?”
The violence wracking Mexico, largely fueled by the country’s drug war, is magnified in the border town of Ciudad Juárez, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. So even though I spent two years as a human rights accompanier in Colombia visiting some of the country’s most dangerous regions, the concentration and apparent randomness of the violence in Juárez left me apprehensive about my upcoming trip.
Just days before my departure the last weekend in October, four maquila factory workers were killed and fifteen more injured when gunmen shot up three company buses carrying the workers home. The following weekend, 20 more were killed. Since 2008, the murder rate has surpassed 6,500 in a city of about 1.5 million.
But despite my nervousness, I was determined to go. I planned to attend the Foro Internaciónal Contra La Militarización y la Violencia – the International Forum Against Militarization and Violence – on behalf of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an organization I had worked for in Colombia. As U.S. government officials suggest the application of a U.S.-Colombia-style policy in Mexico, those of us who have worked in Colombia and strongly criticize the human rights implications of that policy are seeking to get involved in the Mexico discussion.
I flew from San Francisco to El Paso, took a cab to the Sante Fe Bridge, and crossed over the Rio Grande. I met up with my hosts on the Ciudad Juárez side and they took me to the starting point of the “walk against death,” the Foro’s opening event and the eleventh such march the organizations planning the Foro had organized since the violence intensified earlier this year. I marched with a small group of about forty, with a few signs, a few drums, and a bullhorn. Four or five cars accompanied us to give us a buffer from the traffic on the busy streets we traversed. Banners carried by the marchers read Ni un muerte más (Not one more death) and Por una cultura diferente (For a different culture). The most common chant translates roughly to “Juárez isn’t a barracks! Get the army out of here!”
About halfway through our route I noticed a small group of student marchers with big cardboard cutouts and cans of spray paint in hand. Soon, “savage capitalism” and “not another death” adorned the empty walls the march passed. Though the marchers tried to stick together for protection, the group kept spreading out.
As we approached the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez where the Foro was to take place, a siren wailed behind us. Near the front of the march, I turned to check on the rear, but before I even registered that the open-air black jeeps packed with men in balaclavas and assault weapons were federal police, four shots rang out. There was a collective gasp and much confusion. The little group I was with did not know whether to run towards or away from the shots. We wanted to aid to the rest of the marchers now surrounded by federal police, but did not want to put ourselves in danger. As we vacillated, word began to spread that the shots had been into the air. Then two more rang out. We decided to move away from the commotion and entered the university from another gate. As we approached other marchers and bystanders, we pieced together the story of what had happened.
As spray painters were finishing their last tag, federal police had pulled up, yelled at the kids to stop, then fired a round of shots into the air. The students, spooked and unarmed, turned and ran through the university gate. That is when the federal police shot the second round.
Those shots, however, were not fired into the air but at the kids running away. One bullet struck sociology student Dario Álvarez Orrantia in the back from such a close range that his guts spilled out where the bullet left his stomach. Seeing that they had perhaps mortally injured a student, the federal police jumped down from their jeeps and began to drag Dario by his leg, likely attempting to take him away to cover up what had happened. Witnesses somehow had the courage to stop the federal police from taking Dario and instead rushed him to the emergency room in a private car.
Inside the university tensions ran high. “He’s a compañero!” one of Dario’s classmates wailed. Others cursed the federal police, exclaiming that the shooting served as yet another example of the violence and corruption of the forces sent to Juárez in response to the city’s violence.
Federal police took control of security in April of this year, ostensibly to bring more “community policing” to the city. The federal police takeover was in part in response to widespread complaints of human rights abuses by the military, which had controlled the city since March 2008. In mid November, however, the state government announced that the military would re-join the federal police on Juárez streets.
As evidenced by Dario’s shooting, the federal police have not become a beloved community police force, however. Nor have they succeeded in reducing violence in the city. On my last day in Juárez, October 31, there were 10 murders.
Despite the heated emotions caused by the shooting, Foro organizers decided that the event should continue. Dario was a constant presence the entire weekend. “An injury to one is an injury to all," read a banner hung from one of the buildings. Participants and presenters regularly referred to the incident.
The government handling of Dario’s shooting is indicative of its general approach to murder and human rights abuses. Throughout the weekend of Foro activities, just steps from the crime scene, I did not see crime scene markers or investigators. Two federal police officers were eventually detained; but on November 5, the Friday following the shooting, one of the officers was released on bail. He was eligible for bail because he was charged only minor infractions of duty - not for having shot Dario. The other officer was charged with injuring Dario. Since the charge is minor he may also be eligible for bond.
Many Juarenses have wanted to rid the city of federal police since they arrived, not only for the excessive use of force but for their extortion and complicity with drug cartels. In September the government fired 3,200 federal officers—10 percent of the total force—after widespread allegations of misconduct including corruption. Between May and September, the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission (the state in which Juárez is located) received 60 complaints for abuse of authority. 50 of those were against federal police for murder, theft, kidnapping, and extortion.
Silvia, who works at a local human rights organization, lamented the lack of options for young people in Ciudad Juárez, a city that has lost 10,000 jobs in recent years and whose remaining economy relies largely on maquila sweatshops. With so few jobs, and tightened border security cartels are giving local kids “jobs” to sell drugs in their neighborhoods, thus creating a local market.
Silvia also told me that Dario’s shooting was unprecedented for its directness. Dario was extremely lucky to have survived, as the bullet just barely missed vital organs. Other innocent victims have not been so lucky, particularly those who, like Dario, voice opposition to government abuses. In January, human rights activist Josefina Reyes was killed by armed men who, before shooting her in the head, referred disparagingly to her work with NGOs. Reyes had worked to document abuses by the Mexican military.
Chihuahua State Human Rights Commissioner Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson now works from exile in El Paso because he fears the same fate. Responding to Josefina’s death, de la Rosa Hickerson said that human rights defenders “are in grave risk. We become enemies of the criminals and of the army. The cartels don’t want us to investigate their crimes and their arrangements with the police and the army, and the soldiers don’t tolerate that we denounce their abuses.”
Some good seems to have resulted from Dario’s shooting. The incident has galvanized youth in Juárez to organize. They have formed the Asociación Estudiantil Juarense (Juárez Student Association), and on November 2 organized several hundred marchers to denounce Dario’s shooting and protest the military and federal police presence.
Mexican organizations are not the only ones demanding demilitarization of the drug war in Mexico. Dozens of U.S. and Mexican organizations have signed a letter calling for a halt to U.S. drug war funding to Mexican security forces. They are demanding that the U.S. government focus instead on “the causes and structures of organized crime within the United States - drug addiction and the demand for black-market drugs, international financial transactions and transborder corruption, arms trafficking - and aid Mexico in eliminating the root causes of the spread of crime such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, and the lack of opportunities for youth.”
http://1peaceatatime.blogspot.com/2010/12/hidden-side-of-violence-in-ciudad.html
Moira
San Francisco, CA, United States
I recently returned to the U.S. after two years in Colombia as a Human Rights Observer, and am now serving as a Colombia Country Specialist for Amnesty International. I have also researched community-based models of alternative economies, advocated for affordable housing, and promoted environmental protection. I seek, in myself and others, passion, beauty, community, cooperation. I read voraciously, eat whole grains, enjoy drinking red wine and belgian beer, and ride bikes whenever possible.
This article was published today on The Women's International Perspective, where I have previously published several articles about Colombia.
| | Juárez: a hidden side of Mexico’s violence | Moira - 27.01.2011 15:09
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
My trip to Ciudad Juarez: A glimpse into the hidden side of Mexico’s violence
------------------------------
I wrote this piece for the latest Colombia Update from the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the organization I worked with in Colombia.
-------------------------------
When FOR staff asked if I could travel to a conference on civilian resistance to militarism in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico during the last weekend in October, I jumped at the chance to visit a country often compared to Colombia, where I recently spent two years as a human rights accompanier.
However, as my departure date grew closer, I became more and more nervous. The violence wracking Mexico, largely fueled by the country’s drug war, is magnified in the border town of Juarez, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, and often vies for the dubious title of most dangerous city in the world. So just because I spent two years in Colombia as a human rights accompanier, and knew that the mainstream news stories about Mexico I had read didn’t tell the whole story, the concentration and apparent randomness of the violence in Juarez, at least as portrayed in mainstream media, worried me.
Just days before my departure for Ciudad Juarez, for example, four maquila factory workers were killed and fifteen more injured when gunmen shot up three company buses carrying the workers home. Since 2008, the number of murders has surpassed 6,500 in a city of about 1.5 million. New York City, with a population of 8.3 million, had just 1,570 murders in a similar period.
But despite my nervousness, I had made a commitment and was determined to go. FOR asked me to attend the Foro Internaciónal Contra La Militarización y la Violencia – the International Forum Against Militarization and Violence. As U.S. government officials continue to herald the application of U.S. Colombia policy in Mexico, those of us who have worked in Colombia and strongly criticize the human rights implications of that policy are seeking to get involved in the Mexico policy discussion.
I flew from San Francisco to El Paso on Friday morning, took a cab to the Sante Fe Bridge, and crossed over the Rio Grande. I met up with my hosts on the Ciudad Juarez side, and from there they took me to the starting point of the “walk against death,” the Foro’s opening event and the eleventh such march that the Juarez organizations planning the Foro had organized. We marchers were a small group of about forty, with a few signs, a few drums, and a bullhorn. Banners carried by the marchers read “Ni un muerte mas” (Not one more death) and “Por una cultura diferente” (For a different culture). The most common chant translates roughly as “Juarez isn’t a barracks, get the army out of here!” A few of the student marchers had spray paint and where tagging phrases like “savage capitalism” and “not another death” on the empty walls that the march passed.
As we approached the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez where the Foro was to take place, a siren wailed behind us. Those of us near the front turned to check on the rear of the march, but before my brain even registered that the open-air black jeeps packed with men in balaclavas and assault weapons were federal police, four shots rang out. There was a collective gasp, and much confusion. Word began to spread that the shots had been into the air, but suddenly two more rang out. Though I was near the front of the march and the confrontation with the federal police near the back, I soon pieced together what had happened.
As the spray painters were finishing their last tag, the federal police had pulled up, yelled at the kids to stop, then fired a round of shots into the air. The kids, spooked and unarmed, turned and ran through the university gate, and that’s when the federal police shot the second round of shots.
That second round, however, was not fired into the air, but at the kids running away. One of the bullets struck sociology student Dario Álvarez Orrantia in the back from such close range that his guts spilled out where the bullet left his stomach. Seeing that they had perhaps mortally injured a student, some of the federal police jumped down from their jeeps and began to drag Dario by his leg, likely attempting to take him away to cover up what had happened. Witnesses, shaken though they were, somehow had the courage to stop the federal police from taking Dario, and instead rushed him to the emergency room in a private car.
Inside the university, tensions ran high. “He’s a compañero!” one of Dario’s classmates wailed as a friend dragged her away from the gate. Others cursed the federal police, exclaiming that the shooting served as yet another example of the violence and corruption of the federal forces sent to Juarez in February of last year in response to the city’s violence.
The federal police had taken over control of security in Juarez from the military in April of this year, ostensibly to bring more “community policing” to the city. The federal police takeover was in part in response to widespread complaints of human rights abuses by the military, which in turn had controlled the city since March 2008.
As evidenced by Dario’s shooting, the Federal Police haven’t exactly become a beloved community police force, however. Nor have they succeeded in reducing violence in the city. On just one day, October 31—my last day in Juarez—there were 10 murders.
Despite the heated emotions caused by the shooting, Foro organizers decided that the event should continue, albeit with many changes in the schedule. Dario was a constant presence the entire weekend. “An injury to one is an injury to all," read a banner hung from one of the buildings, and participants and presenters regularly referred to the incident.
Impunity appears to reign in Mexico with as much of an iron grip as in Colombia. For example, since the early 1990s, hundreds—maybe even thousands, according to unofficial figures—of women have disappeared in the city, most never to be heard from again. Those whose bodies were recovered showed signs of torture, rape and mutilation. Despite the horrific nature and widespread occurrence of these crimes, the government has opened few investigations and barely followed through on any of them. Though media attention has waned and investigations are nearly nonexistent, the killings continue: nearly 150 women have been killed in Juarez so far in 2010.
After the experience of Dario’s shooting, along with stories told to me at the Foro, I began to realize that Mexico and Colombia have more in common than I may have realized. True, I’ve known that the U.S. has sent billions of dollars—over $1.5 billion in the last three years—for the war on drugs in Mexico, comparable to the $5 billion in Plan Colombia funding since 2000. But I hadn’t realized that human rights abuses by the Mexican military are nearly as rampant as in Colombia, or that there seems to be an institutional effort to stigmatize the defense of human rights in Mexico, as I know from personal experience exists in Colombia.
In September 2008, for example, Mexican General Felipe de Jesús Espitia accused human rights defenders of being financed by narcotraffickers to discredit the army. Such rhetoric is all-too-similar to former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe’s regular statements that human rights defenders have links with the FARC in order to discredit the army.
Though Silvia, who works at a local human rights organization, told me that Dario’s shooting was unprecedented for its directness, many Juarenses have wanted to rid the city of federal police since they arrived, not only for their excessive use of force but for extortion and complicity with drug cartels. In September the government fired 3,200 federal officers—10 percent of the total force—after widespread allegations of misconduct including corruption. Between May and September, the Human Rights Commission of Chihuahua (the state in which Juarez is located) received 60 complaints for abuse of authority. Fifty of those were against federal police for murder, theft, kidnapping and extortion.
Like in Colombia, human rights defenders have been specific targets. In January, human rights activist Josefina Reyes was killed by armed men who, before shooting her in the head, referred disparagingly to her work with NGOs. Reyes had worked to document abuses by the Mexican military. Chihuahua State Human Rights Commissioner Gustavo de la Rose Hickerson now works from exile in El Paso because he fears the same fate. Responding to Josefina’s death, de la Rosa Hickerson said that human rights defenders “are in grave risk, we become enemies of the criminals and of the Army: the cartels don’t want us to investigate their crimes and their arrangements with the police and the Army, and the soldiers don’t tolerate that we denounce their abuses.”
Nonetheless, some good seems to have resulted from Dario’s shooting. The incident has galvanized youth in Juarez to organize. Before the shooting, students in Juarez didn’t have an organization of their own. They have now formed the Asociacón Estudiantil Juarense (Juarez Student Association), and on November 2 organized several hundred marchers to denounce Dario’s shooting and protest the military and federal police presence in Juarez.
Mexican organizations aren’t the only ones demanding demilitarization of the drug war in Mexico. Dozens of U.S. and Mexican organizations have signed and are circulating a sign-on letter calling for a halt to U.S. drug war funding to Mexican security forces, which adds to more than $1.5 billion in the last three years. The organizations are circulating a sign-on letter right now demanding that the U.S. government focus instead "on attacking the causes and structures of organized crime within the United States' drug addiction and the demand for black-market drugs, international financial transactions and transborder corruption, arms trafficking--and aid Mexico in eliminating the roots causes of the spread of crime such as poverty, inequality, unemployment and the lack of opportunities for youth."
| | Mexico: Historic record of feminicides 2010 | CIPAZ Blog + WikiLeaks - 31.01.2011 22:12
Mexico: Historic record of number of feminicides in 2010
On 6 January, the organization Justice for Our Daughters released a bulletin regarding the high number of feminicides experienced in the state of Chihuahua in 2010. The bulletin discussed the “historic record” of 446 feminicides in said state, noting that a woman was killed every 20 hours last year. “2010 has been the most violent year for the women of Chihuahua,” declared Norma Ledezma, coordinator of Justice for Our Daughters.
The municipality of Ciudad Juárez continues to suffer the highest levels of violence: 306 of the 446 feminicides that were committed originated from this city, thus representing 69% of the total. The organization demands justice for each case of intentional homicide committed against the women of the state of Chihuahua.
Julia Monárrez Fragosa, sociologist and investigator at the School of the Northern Border, declared in an interview with feminicidio.net that “feminicide is practically a pandemic in Ciudad Juárez but also in other parts of Mexico, such as Oaxaca, the state of Mexico, and Central America.”
The magazine Contralinea indicates that the concept of “feminicide” is absent from Mexican law. “Specialists recognize that the term is only just now becoming a political category, product of feminist theory, that different organizations have employed to denounce the murders against women inspired by a ‘discriminatory and misogynist’ culture,” claims the article regarding the rise in feminicides from said magazine.
In other news, with 20 votes in favor, 11 against, and 2 abstentions, the National System to Prevent, Attend, Sanction, and Eradicate Violence against Women (SNPASEVM) refused to declare an alert regarding gender violence in the state of Mexico regarding cases of feminicide. The Citizens’ Observatory of the Rights of Women, in a communiqué from 12 January, declare that “this determination was realized while ignoring all the international agreements on the human rights of women and the conventions that Mexico has signed regarding this question [...].” The request to publish a gender alert was made by the Citizens’ National Observatory on Feminicide and the Mexican Commission on Defense and Promotion of Women’s Human Rights. The petition contains data from the Attorney General’s Office in the state of Mexico which report 4773 denunciations of rape during a period of one and a half years as well as 922 intentional homicides against women committed between January 2005 and August 2010. Additionally the data show a high percentage of impunity in the cases of feminicide.
In light of the negative response made by SNPASEVM, human-rights organizations declared that they would launch an appeal. In a press-conference, Maria de la Luz Estrada Mendoza, executive coordinator of the Citizens’ National Observatory on Feminicide, denounced that the system of prevention has trivialized feminicide in the state of Mexico, which according to the Citizens’ Observatory and the Mexican Commission of Defense and Promotion of Human Rights have risen to 922 between 2005 and 2010.
She rejected the idea that the petition regarding gender-alert is meant to impugn governor Peña Nieto. “We do this because the state of Mexico represents a red alert regarding feminicide in the country,” she said. According to NGOs, Chihuahua and the state of Mexico are the regions in which most feminicides take place.
In the same press-conference, specialists Lourdes Enríquez, fromt he Coordination of Sexual and Reproductive Rights from the University Program of Gender Studies from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Alicia Elena Pérez Duarte, former prosecutor of crimes against women from the Federal Attorney General’s Office, lamented the lack of implementation of national and international norms to eradicate violence against women in the case when the Inter-American Court on Human Rights sentenced Mexico with regard to the case of Campo Algodonero in Ciudad Juárez and in that of the two indigenous women sexually abused by soldiers in Guerrero.
For his part, Enrique Peña Nieto assured that the state of Mexico is not the entity in which is registered the highest number of feminicides in the country, so that, as he said, there are no grounds to declare a gender alert, as demanded by civil organizations.
For more information (in Spanish):
Gender alert is denied for feminicides in the state of México
(Observatorio Ciudadano de los Derechos de las Mujeres, 12 January)
http://analisisafondo.blogspot.com/2011/01/evitan-declarar-alerta-de-genero-por.html
Historic record of 446 feminicides in the state of Chihuahua
(press-bulletin from Justice for Our Daughters) (6 January)
http://www.cencos.org/es/node/26004
Feminicide on the rise in Mexico (Contralinea, 4 April 2010)
http://contralinea.info/archivo-revista/index.php/2010/04/04/crecen-feminicidios-en-mexico/
Ciudad Juárez is a modern necropolis (22 December 2010)
http://www.feminicidio.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74:ciudad-juarez-es-una-moderna-necropolis&catid=11:entrevista&Itemid=13
NGOs will launch appeal in light of refusal to declare gender alert (La Jornada, 14 January)
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/01/14/index.php?section=politica&article=017n2pol
Peña Nieto scorns suggestion to release alert against feminicide; political interests in shadows (La Jornada, 14 January)
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/01/14/index.php?section=politica&article=017n1pol
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Guerrero – briefs –
Tierra Caliente is second-highest national location in number of feminicides; SCJN will analyze recommendations of the Inter-American Court in the case of Radilla (14 September 2010)
http://sipazen.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/guerrero-briefs-–-tierra-caliente-is-second-highest-national-location-in-number-of-feminicides-scjn-will-analyze-recommendations-of-the-inter-american-court-in-the-case-of-radilla/
http://sipazen.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/mexico-historic-record-of-number-of-feminicides-in-2010/
--------------------
Mexico is een land dat lijdt onder geweld tegen vrouwen. En dan hebben we het niet alleen over de beruchte zaken in Ciudad Juárez, in de noordelijke grensstaat Chihuahua. Ook Estado de México, die als een hoefijzer rond de hoofdstad ligt geklemd, registreerde dit jaar een schrikbarend hoog aantal moorden op vrouwen. Tijd voor een onderzoek? Mis! Het SNPASEVM, een orgaan dat door verschillende bestuurslagen wordt gevormd, besloot dat er geen onderzoek hoeft te komen naar geweld tegen vrouwen in Estado de México, de meest bevolkte deelstaat van Mexico. Met dank aan het onvoorstelbare cynisme van de PRI.
(..)
UPDATE 2: Toch nog wat positief nieuws over de kwestie. De Mexicaanse senaat heeft geïrriteerd gereageerd op de beslissing van de SNPASEVM om van een onderzoek af te zien en eist dat Estado de México hen ‘informeert’ over de vele vrouwenmoorden in de staat. Belangrijk is dat die motie wordt gesteund door de PRI. Het heeft er daardoor schijn van dat Peña Nieto niet op de onverdeelde steun van zijn partij kan rekenen. Het Huis van Afgevaardigden en de PRI-gouverneurs lijken hem te steunen, terwijl de senaatsfractie minder op zijn hand is. Wordt vervolgd.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/722941.html
http://elpincheholandes.nl/2011/01/cynisch-cynischer-pri/
--------------------
Latest 4 WikiLeaks Doc. on Feminicide and Juárez - WIKILEAKS UPDATE
10MEXICO640 2010-02-22 16:04 2011-01-28 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Mexico
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 17 MEXICO 000640
SIPDIS
PASS TO S/GWI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KWMN MX
SUBJECT: S/GWI Project Proposal
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In response to the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues Small Grants initiative, Embassy Mexico City submits the following four applications. They are in order of Post's preference.
First, find Semillas' proposal to advocate for legislation that better protects victims of gender violence in Guanajuato and Chiapas.
Second, find the Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equality's proposal to increase the political participation of women.
Third, find the Women's Center for Humans Rights proposal to increase access to justice for women in Chihuahua.
Finally, find I(dh)eas' project to promote awareness on a recent Inter-American Court decision.
All of these proposals advance MSP goals including the promotion of greater respect for human rights and comprehensive justice reform. With their focus on the challenges that face women in Mexico, particularly in connection to the justice system, all of these projects would contribute to these goals. Post's POL and AID offices will manage the grant.
--------------------------------------------- ----------------------
Proposal 1: Semillas- Reduction of Gender Violence in Mexico
Project
--------------------------------------------- ----------------------
¶2. (SBU) Post Summary: Semillas will work to support the
implementation of needed laws to reduce violence against women in
the states of Guanajuato and Chiapas by working with local NGO
partners and other experts to develop strategic plans, organize
trainings on advocacy for local NGO partners, and carry out public
relations campaigns.
Post Comment: Semilla is a highly respected and well known national
organization. Its project is specifically focused at the state
level where they can make a great impact.
PROBLEM TO BE ADDRESSED
¶3. (U) A Special Commission established in 2006 by the Mexican Parliament to investigate the phenomena of femicides concluded that the government, at every level, has the obligation to guarantee the right of women to a life free of violence, and ensure timely and expeditious access to justice in the case of abuses. The government has since advanced in certain areas at the legislative level actions such as the approval of the General Law on the Access of Women to a Life without Violence in 2007, and the inclusion of the crime of femicide in the Federal Penal Code. The General Law establishes the coordination between the national government and the 32 states in order to prevent, punish, and eradicate violence against women as well as the ways to guarantee women's access to a life without violence, ensuring their development as well as their welfare with equality and non-discrimination. It further includes the necessary local laws and budgetary and administrative provisions. Even so, violence against women is persistent in Mexico. Every six hours a girl or woman is murdered in Mexico. From 1999 to 2005, there were 1,288 murders in the state of Mexico, 1,494 in Veracruz, 1,242 in Chiapas, 863 in Guerrero, and 743 in the Federal District (i.e. Mexico City). While the victims come from different socio-economic strata, the majority are poor or marginalized with low levels of formal education.
(..).
¶8. (U) Semillas has supported nine organizations with small grants to do this work, two of which are from Guanajuato (Las Libres and Vitoria Diez Human Rights) and one from Chiapas (Grupo de Mujeres de San Crist????bal de las Casas, or COLEM ). The present grant would give Semillas the opportunity to support these organizations to make a bigger impact in states that badly need reform.
(..)
-Provision of grants to local organizations working on the issue of gender violence in Guanajuato and Chiapas. Funding is a vital component in enabling groups to undertake this work. It is envisaged that three groups will be supported, each with a grant of US$22,500, given in three payments of US$7,500 each.
(..)
¶26. (U) Semillas has received funding from: ADO Foundation, American Express Foundation, Avon Foundation, Ford Foundation, General Service Foundation, Global Fund for Women, HIVOS, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Levi Strauss Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mama Cash, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation (MDG3 Fund), Natura, Oak Foundation, Open Society Institute, Park Perales, IFA (Pharmaceutical Research), Sigrid Rausing Trust, and UNIFEM, among others.
(..)
--------------------------------------------- ----------------------
Proposal 3: Women's Center for Humans Rights -
Access to Justice for Women in Chihuahua
--------------------------------------------- ----------------------
¶49. (SBU) Post Summary: As part of its Access to Justice for Women in the New Accusatory System, the Women's Center for Human Rights will: study and document cases of violence against women, develop promotional educational material on women's rights, provide free legal representation for female victims of violence, organize trainings on women's rights, and advocate for legislative changes to benefit women.
Post Comment: CEDEHM's would advance Mission goals and would undoubtedly make a substantial contribution to improving the plight of many women at the local level.
(..)
¶77. (U) Impunity in cases of gender violence has pushed civil society organizations to request the intervention of international human rights mechanisms when solutions cannot be found in our own judicial system. As a significant example, in December 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CoIDH) issued a sentence against the Mexican state regarding violence against women, in what has become known as the "Cotton Field" Case.
The case deals with three young women who were brutally murdered in Chihuahua. The CoIDH sentenced the Mexican government to compensate the victims, or their surviving kin, for damages caused by the government by not assuming its responsibility to guarantee women a life free of violence, and by not providing prompt and expeditious attention to the case of forced disappearances of the young women involved.
(..)
¶83. (U) a) A citizen's forum on the implications of the sentence by the CoIDH. Due to the lack of information in the media about the "Cotton Field" sentence and its legal implications for public policy, we will host a public citizens' forum which will include women leaders, women's organizations, academics, public leaders, NGO representatives, and public servants working in the field of women's human rights. Members of i(dh)eas, its partner organization the Economic Research and Teaching Center, A.C. (CIDE), and five experts on gender issues will discuss and analyze the relevance of the "Cotton Field" sentence and its possible implications for women's organizations struggling for a society characterized by a life without violence. The forum will take place at CIDE's offices in November 2010.
¶84. (U) Expected results and performance indicators: Fifty women, members of the media, and socio-political leaders will participate by discussing the transcendence of this sentence and the government's (lack of) compliance with it. The information produced will be compiled into a formal document and disseminated through the media (two radio programs and three national newspapers) and on the i(dh)eas and CIDE websites. The forum will initiate public discussion of the sentence and will provide conclusions that will be used as inputs for the later workshops.
(..)
¶93. (U) I(dh)eas has a professional technical team of nine people with extensive experience in the field of human rights at both the national and international levels. This project will be spearheaded by three individuals. Fabi????n S????nchez is an international human rights lawyer and the Executive Director of i(dh)eas. He was formerly director of the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights. Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi is a human rights activist. She has work in many national and international human rights organizations and was formerly president of the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights and Sub-Secretary of State for Human Rights in President Fox's administration. She currently works as a Professor/Associate Researcher at CIDE. Luz Rosales Esteva is a social worker, former director of the Citizen Movement for Democracy in Mexico (MCD), and former director of the Womens???? Institute in Mexico City. She has worked extensively with civil society organizations and government institutions for social justice and currently woks as Coordinator for the Community Program "Discurso Eficaz" [Effective Discourse] at the Universidad Aut????noma de la Ciudad de M????xico (Autonomous National University of Mexico).
FEELEY
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2010/02/10MEXICO640.html
http://ingles.semillas.org.mx/
http://www.cedehm.org.mx/
-----------------------
10MEXICO75 2010-01-25 15:03 2011-01-28 21:09
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Mexico
INTER-AMERICAN COURT RULINGS PRESSURE MEXICO TO ADDRESS HUMAN
RIGHTS ISSUES
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Two recent decisions by the Inter-American Court have forced international attention on perennial human rights problems in Mexico and put pressure on the GOM and its official human rights ombudsman to respond to criticism of its military justice system and its handling of gender violence. The first case, known as the Cotton Field case, deals with longstanding issues of violence against women in Chihuahua state. Reftel reviews the Radilla case which calls on Mexico to address inconsistencies between Mexico's constitution and the military's code of justice.
End Summary
¶2. (SBU) In the Cotton Field case, the Court considered the violent murders of three young women from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua whose bodies were discovered in a local cotton field. The Court ruled Mexico had not done enough to investigate their deaths and had fabricated evidence to falsely convict two men. In light of the long pattern of violence against women in the northern border area, the Court found Mexico had violated the human rights of the female victims and their families. The Court ordered the GOM to strengthen its investigation of such cases and make symbolic gestures to the families and victims. With its condemnation of widespread gender violence in Ciudad Juarez, the Inter-American Court forces Mexico to recognize its failure to meet its human rights obligations. The decision is hardly a panacea for all of Mexico's human rights woes, but it should create space to address more effectively such challenges in the future. End summary.
(..)
Implementation: GOM Will Rely on Chihuahua
--------------------------------------------- ----------------
¶7. (SBU) Although the Court's decision obligates Mexico to improve its response to crimes against women, there has been no official public reaction from the GOM on the practical steps it plans to take to implement the Court's decision. According to POL sources, the GOM will look to the state of Chihuahua to assume the lead on implementing the prescribed actions. Jose Guevara, Director of the Unit for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights at the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB), the office responsible for implementing Inter-American Court decisions, told Poloffs that Chihuahua will have to implement some procedural changes but indicated it should not be difficult to do so within the Court's one year deadline.
Comment
--------------
¶8. (SBU) Both cases before the Inter-American Court were the result of a dedicated effort by the families of victims, supported by civil society groups, to seek justice. There was no significant backing from the CNDH and the Mexican government resisted with counter arguments. The decisions have put new pressure on the GOM, the military and the CNDH to take or support remedial action. The CNDH, while helpful in documenting abuse, has often shied away from using the existing authority in its mandate to support victims and their families. The Ambassador is scheduled to meet with the new CNDH President, Raul Plasencia, to discuss ways to reinforce CNDH efforts in line with the our comprehensive strategy on human rights (ref B). In our working ongoing dialogue with the Mexican human rights community, several NGO's have focused on the CNDH and its new leadership as an area where much more can be done.
End comment.
FEELEY
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2010/01/10MEXICO75.html
http://www.amnesty.ca/blog2.php?blog=mexico_hr&page=1
-----------------------
09MEXICO661 2009-03-06 00:12 2011-01-28 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Mexico
SUBJECT: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN MEXICO REMAINS A PROBLEM
NOTWITHSTANDING GOVERNMENT EFFORTS, CAMPAIGNS
¶1. Summary. Violence against women in Mexico remains a serious problem, common not only in the highly publicized cases of Ciudad Juarez but in a number of other states. While the Mexican Government has made a good faith effort to strengthen efforts to combat violence against women, these efforts have yet to register a major impact on the problem. To turn the page on violence against women, Mexico needs to promote a new culture of gender respect through education and campaigns against discrimination based on gender; it also needs to end impunity against abusers by meting out appropriate punishments. As problems predominantly occur at the local level, until Mexico develops state laws addressing violence against women at the state level and similarly disburses funding at that level, its efforts will continue to be significantly hampered.
End Summary.
(..)
¶5. The National Institute for Women (INMUJERES), a public institution established in 2001 to foster equality between the sexes and promote respect for and prevent violence against women, assumes a key role in the government's efforts to change attitudes. (Separately, each of Mexico's 31 states plus the Federal District has its own state women's institution.) Its campaign "Men Against Violence" represented the government's first attempt to address the cultural attitudes of men in tackling the gender violence problem.
(..)
¶6. INMUJERES does not lack for resources. In 2009, it received approximately $700 million to carry out programs throughout all of Mexico. Some experts maintain, however, that the organization is still trying to find its identity and its sense of mission. In the meantime, it does not appear that funds are being spent down according to some overarching plan. Instead they are managed from Mexico City and are not as of yet being widely disbursed at the local level as part of an effort to address attitudes at the grassroots level.
Civil Society Seeking Greater GOM Commitment
¶7. A number of human rights NGOs criticize the government's efforts thus far as insufficient for dealing with the gender violence problem and have taken up initiatives on their own to draw greater attention to the problem of violence against and pressure the government to do more. Last November, a group of NGOs consisting of more than 500 members embarked on a week-long "No More Violence Against Women" march from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua to San Cristobal de la Casas, Chiapas calling for an end to violence against women in Mexico and demanding that the Federal Government resolve pending cases, particularly those involving femicides -- gender motivated killings of women. Some activists described this march as merely the first phase of a new, more energetic campaign to pressure the government to take greater initiative on this issue. NGOs also have criticized the Gender Violence Law for not establishing specific enough punishments for perpetrators of violence against women. Women's rights NGOs point to in the continued high incidence of femicides, in particular, as evidence that the GOM is not as committed as it should be to fighting the problem.
(..)
BASSETT
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/03/09MEXICO661.html
----------------------
http://sipazen.wordpress.com/2008/12/
http://sipaz.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/mexicochiapas-marcha-mundial-de-las-mujeres-finaliza-en-san-cristobal-de-las-casas/
http://sipazen.wordpress.com/?s=No+More+Violence+Against+Women%22+march
http://www.sipaz.org/informes/vol14no1/vol14no1e.htm
http://www.sipaz.org/informes/vol15no1/vol15no1e.htm
----------------------
08MEXICO2382 2008-08-04 16:04 2011-01-28 UNCLASSIFIED/FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Mexico
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S ISSUES FOR DIRECTOR ANDREA
BOTTNER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MX PGOV PREL PHUM
SUBJECT: DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S
ISSUES (IWI) VISITS MEXICO
¶1. On 28 July 2008, Andrea G. Bottner, Director of the Office of International Women's Issues at the State Department, visited Mexico City. Bottner was accompanied by Sandra Mayoral Pedroarias, Deputy Director of the Office of International Women's Issues, and Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Violence Against Women. During her one-day visit to Mexico City, Bottner met with civil society representatives and GOM officials to discuss gender-based violence, exploitation of women in Mexico and existing victim assistance programs. Representatives from the civil society said budgetary constraints hindered their efforts to assist greater numbers of domestic violence victims while officials at the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Violence Against Women and Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA) said internal disagreements regarding jurisdiction severely hindered their efforts to prosecute cases of gender violence and trafficking in persons. While in Mexico City, Bottner and her delegation also met with officials at the National Institute of Women (INMUJER) and toured a domestic violence shelter. End Summary.
THE CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE
-----------------------------
¶2. (U) On 28 July, Deputy Director of the Fundacion Infantia (the Children's Foundation) Javier Martinez, Regional Director of the Coalition to Against Trafficking of Women and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean Teresa Ulloa and Pilar Vallejo of the National Network of Women in Mexico City dialogued and exchanged ideas with the Director of the Office of International Women's Issues (IWI) and her accompanying delegation. Martinez, Ulloa and Vallejo commented that women's NGOs in Mexico were severely under-funded, often stretching budgets suitable for only five or six months of expenses to cover annual operational costs. In general, gender-based violence does not receive sufficient attention from federal and state officials, according to Ulloa. Existing legislation, she criticized, is vague and places the burden to prove gender-based violence on the victim. Ulloa also said societal ills such as poverty and organized crime fueled gender-based violence throughout Mexico. An estimated 60 percent of Mexican women have experienced some form of gender-based violence.
¶3. (U) Despite tremendous financial constraints, women's NGOs have been vigilant and creative in their efforts to assist victims. Fundacion Infantia has established partnerships with local hotels like the Sheraton and JW Marriot in Mexico City, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta to train women ages 18-21 in hospitality and tourism. Vallejo mentioned that the National Network of Women plans to establish specialized shelters within indigenous communities and to lobby for stronger legislation to safeguard the human rights of all Mexican women and girls. Bottner commended the efforts of both organization, particularly Fundacion Infantia's efforts to move women from the role of victims to professionals.
(..)
¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: The root causes of gender-based violence in Mexico city run deep, so deep that it is impossible to discuss the issue of violence against women without considering the effects of poverty, cultural mores, or increased national insecurity and instability. Not only do these factors fuel violence against and exploitation of women and girls but also a host of other societal problems, including human trafficking. Although officials appear genuinely interested in protecting the human rights of Mexican women, the GOM's war against the drug cartels and organized crime elements have forced civil society concerns to take a back-seat to more pressing national security issues. Both the GOM and civil society's efforts to combat gender-based violence are commendable but without a more coordinated effort to eradicate domestic violence at the national level, it will be difficult for even the best efforts to keep up with increasing demands for victim assistance.
BASSETT
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/08/08MEXICO2382.html
----------------------
| | No Más Sangre -Border protest El Paso, Juárer | J. Escobedo Shepherd - 01.02.2011 00:17
El Paso, Juárez Citizens Unite to Protest Border Violence: 'No Más Sangre'
Ciudad Juárez, just past El Paso off the Mexico border, has had a monstrously high murder rate for years, owing both to the sanguine drug trade and the rash of sexual violence that's claimed the lives of thousands of women. This weekend, hundreds of citizens in both cities took to the streets in bi-national protest of the killings, wearing shirts declaring 'No Más Sangre' -- 'No More Blood,' in an attempt to bring government attention to the devastation.
Protesters on both sides linked fingers through a border fence, emphasizing the cities' united economic and social future. They were also commemorating the one-year anniversary of the murders of 15 innocent middle school and high school students, who were massacred when cartel-linked gunmen stormed a house party, acting on bad information.
In 2010, 3011 people were murdered in Juárez, a city populated by about 1.3 million, and a team of academics has projected that 5000 deaths will occur in 2011. Two hundred people have already been murdered in Juárez in January alone.
Many attendees spoke of missing, murdered and deported relatives and friends. Monsignor Arturo Bañueles, of El Paso's St. Pius X Catholic Church, gave an inspired and incisive speech linking the violence to US policies and demand for drugs:
'We know the causes of violence on our border: poverty, hunger, the growing gap between rich and poor, NAFTA policies that ignore the plight of the poor, racism, unjust immigration laws, bailing out wall street but not the poor who are losing their homes, illegal trafficking of guns going south, our US lethal addiction for drugs that fund the cartel’s terrorism of our border community, the militarization of our border which has already shown its deathly face, and the profiteering of selling violence to children in the media. The list is long and dreadful. These failed policies and laws serve only to bring dark results: people die, violence flows in our streets. But we can say very clearly today, no law, policy, or profit of violence has ever succeeded. Also it is time to say it clearly: when we buy and use drugs, even recreationally, we are paying for bullets that kill others; and we bring unbearable suffering to families.'
Read a transcript of his speech here.
'No Más Sangre' is a new campaign started by Eduardo del Rio 'Ruis,' a Mexico City cartoonist seeking to empower the public to speak out. Many citizens in Mexico fear protesting the violence for fear of retaliation by the cartels.
Drug violence claimed the lives of 15,273 people across Mexico in 2010, up 60 percent from the year prior. Upwards of 30,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug war since 2006.
By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Sourced from AlterNet
Posted at January 31, 2011, 9:36 am
-------------------------------------------
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/454722/el_paso%2C_juárez_citizens_unite_to_protest_border_violence%3A_%27no_más_sangre%27/
-------------------------------------------
http://www.informador.com.mx/mexico/2011/267553/6/marchan-en-memoria-de-jovenes-asesinados-en-ciudad-juarez.htm
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_17240274?source=most_emailed
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/30/mexico.violence/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2011/01/juarez-model-deaths-2011-artificial-intelligence-drug-war.html
http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/mexico/2011/01/no-more-blood-a-desperate-shout-in-the-border.html
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