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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40892852396905173062016-05-05T19:51:30.268-05:00Mexico VoicesAddressing Mexico's ChallengesReed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-43254163549135911682016-05-05T19:39:00.000-05:002016-05-05T19:51:30.288-05:00Mexico Drug War: Dante's Inferno Without End

Photo: Félix Reyes

Proceso: José Gil Olmos*
Translated by Leslie Castillo Navia

A few years, or perhaps a decade ago, no one imagined the Dantesque inferno we live in today, which has unfortunately become normal for many. In today's Mexican underworld, we have grotesque scenes typical of gore films that are not seen in any other part of the world, including countries that have been ruled by malicious dictators.

In a single day or by night we can see mutilated bodies, clandestine graves located in hills, mountains and even backyards, child assassins who are paid a few pesos to kill someone, adults so brutalized by drugs that they are capable of making hundreds of people disappear in acid-filled barrels, women and children executed in broad daylight, pedophiles smiling at cameras, adolescents in body mutilation classes, police and soldiers torturing people, priests abusing children, and political leaders, bankers and financiers sharing the table with leaders of organized crime.

Dante Alighieri would have to rewrite his poem The Divine Comedy if it were based in Mexico describing the daily hell we live in today. But it would no longer be a funny poem he would have to write, since it would no longer have a happy ending. Rather, it would be a novel tinged with horror, where the Coatlicue [Aztec mother goddess of life and death] would have to be present with her skirt of skulls and snakes as a guide to the Mexican underworld.

Alighieri's trip around Mexico could start as a tourist in Acapulco last weekend. The tropical hell of the port would be the start to describe the fear that tourists and inhabitants faced during the one and a half hour confrontation between gunmen and police. Later, right there in Guerrero, he could take a guided tour through mountains to watch the poppy fields being worked by children and women with their skin stuck to their bones like living dead. Then, he could go towards the hills where dozens of crouching women and men dig into the bowels of the earth looking for bones of their missing relatives.

Dante's journey could continue to Morelos, where not a day passes without attacks, executions and murders in indigenous towns where drugs have replaced alcohol.
As if it were a high risk sport, the Italian poet could continue onwards through Veracruz. There, he could look at the incinerated bodies of the petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos [a fire there on April 20, possibly due to poor maintenance, resulted in dozens of dead]. Then, he could follow the route of migrant Central Americans to contemplate the rape of women, beating of men, and blackmail of youth by criminals and police officers who, ultimately, are the same people.

Subsequently, he could direct his steps towards the State of Mexico or to Tamaulipas where people no longer go out into the streets or highways at night because they are controlled by motorized hordes of criminals carrying drugs, weapons and illegal items with the consent of police and military personnel who take care of them in the rearguard.

He could also take the Pacific route and turn towards Michoacán, where the Knights Templar and their compatriots of the New Generation Jalisco Cartel cook thousands of psychotropic pills that they transport by land, sea and sky to the United States, just like the Sinaloa or Tijuana cartels.

But, in Dante's new work, there would no longer be nine hells. Rather, there would be dozens because in every corner of the country there are thousands of human tragedies while sins such as apathy, lust, gluttony, wrath, envy, greed and pride are turned into public virtues among those who govern.

Neither would it be a divine comedy with a happy ending, since it would have to look at circles of hell in which each circle starts over again, in order to describe the infernal absurdity that living in Mexico has become at the start of this century. Spanish original

*José Gil Olmos is reporter for Proceso and author of Battles of Michoacan, Mexican Reporters in the Zapatista War, Sorcerers of Power and La Santa Muerte [Saint Death]. Twitter: @GilOlmosLeslie Castillo Naviahttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-88684589879408145532016-05-05T15:40:00.001-05:002016-05-05T15:45:09.413-05:00Mexico Government: Congress Adjourns Without Addressing CorruptionReforma: Max Kaiser*
Translated by Rebecca Nannery

It was not going to be easy. It is not a simple adjustment to Mexican law. We proposed altering the way of governing and the way of life of the entire political class. It is about how they behave, but also how they live, what they live on and who they live with.

MV Note: Constitutional amendments establishing a formal Anti-corruption System were passed last year and approved by a majority of the thirty-two state legislatures. A deadline of one year, May 28, 2016, was set for passing the secondary legislation to specify the agencies and rules for its implementation. During the session that began in January and ended on April 30, the Congress drafted a group of such "secondary laws". It adjourned without passing any of them.
The citizen initiative 3for3 law puts three important themes on the table: corruption is a systemic and complex problem; all of us are victims; there is a solution.

MV Note: The 3for3 law proposes that candidates for public office and office holders make public their tax returns, and statements of assets and investments. It was proposed through a citizen's initiative, a new legal procedure that, if a minimum of 120,000 signatures are obtained, requires that Congress consider it. As it was, 600,000 citizens signed the petition.
Until a few years ago, corruption was a simple problem to manage. It was just a temporary inconvenience, which only required the public sacrifice of some disgraced politician that served to temper the social mood. The beginning of each new government was marked by the persecution and harassment of the leaders of the outgoing government.

Furthermore, the atonement that was generated by the disgraced one served for a while as oxygen for the incoming government. The people seemed to turn away, and were quickly going back to their daily lives.

However, the scandals accumulated at an obscene rate. Not a day went by in which there was not a new one exploding onto the scene. That exposed the rottenness of the entire system. This made it impossible, therefore, to return to our daily lives because we live in a state of constant anger, frustration and annoyance.

Each new department in Miami or New York reminds us of the disloyalty of the political class, and the gap that exists between them and us.
.
This gap is widening with every day that passes, because after each scandal, the Golden rule is impunity.

Impunity arises from a complex system of multilateral complicities in which the entire political class take part. Long ago they stopped denying the daily scandals. The favoured form of defense is finger pointing back in the direction of the opposition. They all excuse each other, so none of them suffer the consequences. All are outraged, but nobody gives back what they took. They all cry out for justice, but nobody cares to make it effective.

It is because of this system that we lost the first battle.

What we are proposing is a new system. It is very simple: the exercise of government, both inward and outward, must have clear rules and those who do not comply to them must suffer the consequences. Always, no exceptions.

What we are proposimng is the creation of a system that can break, one by one, the links in the chain of collusions that exist today.

In order to do this we need three things: a clear idea of what corruption actually is, autonomous and independent authorities that can identify and sanction it; and a system that attacks it from all sides.

After months of work and debate with all of the groups, Congress was able to construct five laws which embodied these three elements: A complete Anticorruption System, with autonomous and capable authorities, and a law that made it clear what would be considered corruption and what its consequences would be.

Hundreds of hours of work to put together 436 articles in five laws that would change the life and the future of Mexico.

All of this was stopped because we didn't overcome the resistance generated by the system of shared complicities.

Today, the new National Anticorruption System is being held hostage in response to an additional political demand: the 3for3 Law. Tell me what you own, tell me who you are involved with and tell me what you pay in taxes. This goes much further than simple transparency. It is about building bridges. What we, the citizens, want is the possibility of being able to trust the government again.

"I don't believe what you say in your speeches; if you want my trust, I need to believe in you. For this to happen, I need you to tell me who you are."

The issue of secondary laws that combat corruption is inescapable. Beyond the constitutional deadline for creating the secondary laws [May 28], the social clamour will continue and grow.

They closed the doors of the Congress in our faces. The door of the Senate has a big sign on it today that says, "Do not disturb, we are out campaigning for your vote." [In June, twelve state governors will be elected as well as some state congresses and municipal offices.]

Now it's we citizen's turn to decide how we are going to respond to this message.

Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.

*Max Kaiser is the Anticorruption Director of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, IMCO.
@MaxKaiser75Rebecca email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-22743440894255692122016-05-05T11:31:00.002-05:002016-05-05T15:30:35.993-05:00Mexico Corruption: Seven Anti-corruption Laws Left Pending as Congress Adjourns; Special Session May Be Called

Fernando Herrera Avila, (PAN), Emilio Gamboa Patrón (PRI), Miguel Barbosa Huerta (PRD), and Carlos Alberto Puente Salas (PVEM)
at press conference on pending anti-corruption legislation

Aristegui Noticias: Irving Huerta

During its regular session, the Mexican Congress did not approve the secondary laws that would make the National Anticorruption System operational.

MV Note: To pass legislation on major issues, the Mexican legislative system generally first requires the passage of constitutional amendments on the issue and then the passage of "secondary" legislation to specify the agencies and procedures for implementing the changes. Constitutional amendments establishing a formal Anti-corruption system were passed last year and approved by a majority of the thirty-two state legislatures. A deadline of one year, May 28, 2016, was set for passing the secondary legislation.
However, federal lawmakers could call an extraordinary session in which they could vote on seven bills, including one driven by citizens, called the 3of3 law, for which more than 600 thousand citizens signed a petition and which seeks to make transparent public officials' declarations of taxes, assets and investment.

The laws are stuck because the parties have reached full consensus on only in 4 of the 7 laws. While the discussion of the 3of3 law focuses on whether or not the financial statements of officials would be made pubic. Two more bills are at an impasse, according to the statements made to the press by the coordinators of the major party caucuses.

In a press conference press on Wednesday, the coordinators of the of the PRI [Party of the Institutional Revolution], PAN [National Action Party], PRD [Party of the Democratic Revolution] and PVEM [Green Ecologist Party] caucuses, Emilio Gamboa Patrón, Fernando Herrera Avila, Miguel Barbosa Huerta and Carlos Alberto Puente Salas, announced that the committees of the Senate responsible for drafting the secondary laws required to implement the National Anticorruption System, the laws for the mixed police command and regarding marijuana will resume work on Monday, May 9, with the aim of preparing relevant legislation and that these may be discussed in an extraordinary session.

What are these secondary anti-corruption laws? Who is for or against what? How long could a special session last? Here are key points of the seven laws and their status in congressional committees.

1- Organic Law of the Attorney General of the Republic (stuck)

Creates the Special Prosecutor for Combating Corruption, in charge of prosecuting such crimes. The office would be part of the Fiscalía General, [Attorney General] of the Republic (currently the Procuraduría General, PGR [also translates as Attorney General]). This law remains stalled in committees.

2 Adaptations to the Criminal Code (stuck)

The reform of the Penal Code clearly describes what constitute offenses of corruption and the investigation processes. This initiative is also stuck.

3- General Law on Administrative Responsibilities (3of 3 law) (pending)

Delimits the obligations and behavior of public officials and establish penalties for those who engage in corruption. These obligations would include presenting statements of net worth, invesments and taxes. The citizens' initiative, the 3of 3 law, [which, by law, obligates the Congress to consider the law] contemplated that these statements be made public; the PRI and the Green Party propose that statements not be made public.

4- General Law of the National Anti-Corruption System (consensus achieved)

Establishes coordination among the seven government agencies that make up the National Anticorruption System: Superior Auditor Office, Special Prosecutor for Combating Corruption, Secretariat of Public Administration, Federal Court of Fiscal and Administrative Justice, Federal Institute of Access to Information and Personal Data Protection, and the Committee for Citizen Participation.

5- Organic Law of the Federal Court of Administrative Justice (consensus achieved)

This Court would be responsible to judge and impose sanctions on officials and private individuals who engage in gross misconduct.

6- Adaptations to the Organic Law of Federal Public Administration (consensus achieved)

These adjustments are necessary to reverse the elimination of the Secretariat of Public Administration, which was proposed [by the Peña Nieto government] in 2013 [but not carried out]. It would also give the secretariat all powers to prevent, identify and punish non-serious administrative misconduct.

7- Adjustments to Control and Accountability Act of the Federation (consensus achieved)

These adjustments would allow the Superior Auditor of the Federation to oversee public resources in real time and not wait until after the close of a fiscal year [which has meant that its reports are issued more than a year later]. It could also analyze public accounts of prior years as a result of new complaints or revelations, and finally, be able to monitor [in real time] federal funds given to the states [the bulk of state monies come from federal grants, such as for public security and education].

The regular session of Congress ended on Friday, April 29; but an extraordinary session can be called to meet the May 28 deadline laid down by the constitutional amendments for passage of these bills.

There are two ways to call such an extraordinary session, exclusively to discuss these laws: the congressional caucus groups can propose it in the Standing Committee of Congress or it can be requested by the President. In either case, the vote of two thirds of the legislators present in the Standing Committee is needed. Spanish originalReed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-39488583432097175852016-05-04T20:13:00.000-05:002016-05-04T21:41:39.641-05:00Mexico Government: Four Laws Show Peña Nieto's Iron Fisted Efforts to Impose Social ControlProceso: Jenaro Villamil*
Translated by Rachel Alexander

The media has concentrated on the discussion of the anticorruption laws that remain pending in the Senate, the chamber of origin. The great pretense by practically all parties involved in this discussion obscured a more serious matter: the group of four secondary laws, one of them a state law, and constitutional reforms which have passed Congress and outline measures for a "state of exception," and more power and impunity for military and police bodies dedicated to fighting crime.

Behind the "velvet glove" of President Enrique Peña Nieto in recent speeches, there's an iron first that leads to the hardening of government at the low point of its approval and credibility, nationally and internationally. This is mostly due to the serious report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE) and its performance in the Ayotzinapa case.

These are, at least, the four laws that are shaping this "tough hand" of a regime nervous in the face of the growth of a "bad social mood" [Peña Nieto's recent description of public mood]:

1. Criminalizing social protest. In February 2014, reforms to articles 139 and 170 of the federal Penal Code were approved to classify the crime of "terrorism." The 83 votes of the PRI, PAN and Green Party modified these articles, and the PRD and PT only made up 22 votes in opposition, although they argued clearly about the risks these reforms would take in criminalizing social protest by creating "confused and profuse" crimes in article 139, according to the argument of Senator Alejandro Encinas.

The changes punish equally those who use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and those who act against a publicly accessible property or detain a person as a hostage.

Senator Angélica de la Peña, of the PRD, criticized the deletion of a paragraph from article 139 prohibiting punishment for persons or social groups conducting demonstrations in exercise of their rights.

And Senator Dolores Padierna, also of the PRD, questioned the "haste" to approve a reform, relying on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force against Money Laundering, when Mexico is not classified as a country with terrorism.

The main defenders of this reform were Senator Roberto Gil Zuarth, current president of the Leadership Committee of the Senate, and the then-PRI Senator Arely Gómez, currently the Attorney General of the Republic.

2. The "state of exception." Without further discussion, on March 30, the Chamber of Deputies passed reforms to the law regulating Constitutional article 29 to define the cases that justify suspending political rights and civil guarantees and declaring a "state of exception."

The reform proposed the suppositions of threats to the "right to personal integrity" or the "right to protection of the family" and the rights of children and adolescents in a very ambiguous way.

The National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAD, in Spanish) said that articles 2, 5 and 7 of the act are poorly worded because the defense of human rights and individual guarantees practically remained in second place.

Above all, it empowers the federal Executive to "govern" by issuing decrees, in clear violation of the separation of powers.

"We are faced with a brutal legal regression" because "an authoritarian regime lacking democratic controls could result," ANAD said.
3. Legalizing military searches and interceptions of communications. On the morning of April 28, before the ordinary legislative session ended, the Senate approved reforms to the Military Code of Justice, which authorizes military judges of control [who oversee the preparation of a case for trial] to order the search of civilian homes in cases of military discipline offenses related to organized crime, willful, serious or violent murder with a firearm. The search warrant even authorizes the buildings of the executive, legislative and judicial powers which, by law, are inviolable.

Senator Alejandro Encinas said these reforms authorize the military prosecutor to ask a federal judge to incept private civilian communications (article 287) and ask providers of geolocation services to deliver data stored in mobile phone equipment (article 299).

During the discussion, both Senator Encinas and legislators Manuel Bartlett, Dolores Padierna and Angélica de la Peña, who argued against these reforms, argued that they represented a de facto decree of a state of exception.

There is a clear coincidence and synchronicity between these reforms of the Military Code of Justice and the changes to article 29 of the Constitution, as if the Peña Nieto government were setting the stage to declare a state of exception.

4. The Atenco law. State tests of the "iron fist" have been applied Veracruz, in Puebla (with the so-called Bullet law) and now in the State of Mexico, with the so-called Atenco or Eruviel law, which clearly received a green light from Los Pinos. [MV Note: Atenco refers to state police's violent suppression of a demonstration in the municipality of Atenco in 2006, when Peña Nieto was governor and gave the orders for the police to act. Eruviel Avila is the current governor.] These reforms violate the freedom of assembly and social protest, as well as giving a large amount of discretion to public security agents to use repressive methods.

On April 27, the Supreme Court agreed to hear three cases against the Law Regulating the Use of Public Force in the State of Mexico. The governor, Eruviel Avila, has tried to "wash his hands" of this initiative which also carries his name, in a clear exercise of pretense for not assuming the consequences of a clearly repressive order. Spanish original

*Jenaro Villamil Rodríguez is a Mexican journalist and writer specializing in politics and mass media. He completed undergraduate studies in political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He began as a reporter for El Financiero (1989-1994) and was editor of El Financiero Sureste (1994-1996) and Coordinator of Special Affairs for La Jornada. Currently, he is a reporter for Proceso. He is also a contributor to the news portal sinembargo.mx and the magazine Zocalo. Since 2011 he has maintained a blog specializing in communications and telecommunications: homozapping.com.mx. Twitter: @jenarovillamilRachelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-12726008390193236802016-05-04T12:01:00.001-05:002016-05-04T12:01:33.545-05:00Mexico Justice System: No State Adequately Prepared to Implement Oral Accusatory Trial System: CIDACAristegui Noticias: Sebastián Barragán

At their current rates of progress, it will take the thirty-two states eleven more years to achieve sufficient progress to ensure the optimal performance of the oral accusatory trial system, which comes into force throughout the country on a mandatory basis on June 18 of this year. So concludes a study by the Center of Research for Development (CIDAC).

The new criminal justice system is the result of a constitutional amendment published on June 18, 2008, which seeks to establish an adversarial scheme to replace the "inefficient inquisitorial system" [in which criminal cases are presented to a judge by prosecution and defense via written documents only] that applies in Mexico, says the document presented on Wednesday. Among its main strengths is the implementation of oral trials and strict respect for due process.

"We are still not close to having an effective, efficient criminal justice system that ensures respect for the human rights of the accused and the victims," says the study.
The research organization established a ranking of the progress of each state, with a maximum score of one thousand points for full implementation. Guanajuato was in first place, but only attained 648 points and its level of progress corresponds to what was targeted for 2013. In last places are Sonora with 260 points, Guerrero 268, Colima and Coahuila 275, Campeche 281, Tlaxcala 281 and Hidalgo 288. [far below the targets for 2013]. In this list, Mexico City scored 289 points.

With these advances, it will take 11 years for the system to operate effectively and properly.

The full report was presented on Wednesday in Mexico City and is full of all the lacks detected for each state in the implementation of the adversarial criminal justice system. Spanish originalReed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-45720278229852822272016-05-04T11:15:00.000-05:002016-05-04T11:26:10.055-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: Mexico Government and Alice in WonderlandReforma: Manuel J. Jáuregui*

Translated by Amanda Coe

We cannot tell you, friends, anything that you don't already know; Mexico is a country like Alice in Wonderland: everything is turned into its opposite. In more advanced, rich, and ordered countries than ours, information is used to kill misinformation. Here it is the opposite: we use misinformation to kill information.

We stray from the path of truth, we prefer to walk through the thickets of lies, of unreality, of deceit; as the rabbit says in the story: "The truth is what I say it is" in this our Mexico.

The evidence is clear: we prefer to put on a "Fantastic Show" instead of accepting failures or mistakes made; we never leave the mire of underdevelopment because we do not know to adopt the mentality of the developed countries. We prefer to measure ourselves against third world tyrants rather than emulate first world statesmen, conducting ourselves in accordance with the law, truth, justice and morality.

This we concluded, friends, yesterday afternoon, having carefully read the full report (351 pages, with charts, illustrations and photographs) produced by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF, http://www.eaaf.org/). It was convened (and then discredited) by our authorities to conduct a scientific study to determine certain aspects of the disappearance of 43 normal school students from Ayotzinapa. This was in harmony with the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE), who recently left Mexico after investigating these aspects and being disheartened to find that this is not a country equiped with a government that values the truth, but one that creates, like the rabbit in Wonderland, its own truth, and refuses to abandon it, even facing conclusive facts.

To spare you the investment of time and analysis required to read and fully understand the EAAF studies and their impact, we will read you the conclusions resulting from the analysis done with external first-level scientific support, from Austria, as well as Canada and the U.S. Thirty-two years ago, this formidable group was formed by anthropologist Clyde Snow, precisely to find the truth where it is hidden, whether it be the disappeared in Argentina, Chile or right here in our magical Mexico.

Believe us, on page 241 of their study, comprehensively and scientifically supported by experts who master disciplines such as anthropology, thermodynamics, anatomy, genetics, ballistics, biology, forensic dentistry and others, the experts come to the following conclusion about the alleged disposal of the 43 students' bodies:

1. "The multidisciplinary examination of biological and non-biological evidence recovered in the Cocula garbage dump and the additional information collected does not support the hypothesis that there was a fire of the required intensity and duration reported on the morning of September 27, 2014, that would have yielded the results of a mass incineration of the 43 disappeared students."

2. "So far, the EAAF has found no scientific evidence to establish some correspondence between the items recovered in the Cocula garbage dump and the disappeared students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos rural normal school in Ayotzinapa."

3. "In the opinion of the EAAF, there is not enough scientific evidence at the moment to link the remains found in the Cocula garbage dump with those recovered, according to the PGR, in the bag from the San Juan River, from which came the only positive identification to date of one of the disappeared students, Alexander Mora Venancio."
What's more, the EAAF determined that, indeed, there had been human remains in the garbage dump, but none are from the normal school students; that there have been many cremations there that date back to 2004, not just one (with satellite documentation); that yes, cartridges, bullets and ballistic evidence were recovered in the garbage dump which do not at all match the "confessions" of the perpetrators. They said they had used 9mm pistols to kill the students and yet, only one 9mm cartridge was found where they said they had finished them off, the majority of the other calibres were not mentioned in the confessions.

If we add to this what was discovered by the IGIE, that Federal Police and the Army were present when the students were intercepted, the same federal agents that the IGIE was never able to interview, you will understand, dear readers, why the head of EAAF exasperatedly stated,

"The things we have seen in Mexico, we haven't seen anywhere else."
Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.

*Manuel J. Jáuregui is a regular columnist for Reforma.
Amanda Coehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-89811701182681660162016-05-02T16:09:00.001-05:002016-05-02T16:19:30.021-05:00Mexico Justice System: Giving Powers to Military to Search Private Citizens UnconstitutionalLa Jornada: Bernardo Batiz V.*

After reading the news in La Jornada last Thursday [that the Senate had pass legislation regarding the Military Justice System allowning military judges to issues search warrants of civilian residences and government offices], the first thing I did was get out my Constitution, the latest edition I have from January of this year. I consulted it hastily and took a deep breath: Yes, fortunately the full Article 13 is still there, intact, unchanged, with direct prose written without subterfuges more than a century ago [in 1917]. [MV Note: Most articles of the Constitution have been changed in significant ways.]

It reassures that its essential paragraphs read:

"No one may be tried by private laws or by special courts. No person or corporation shall have exemption from prosecution. Military law for offenses against military discipline continue, but (and here's the relevant part) military courts in no case and for no reason can exercise jurisdiction over persons who do not belong to the army."
Also with a sigh of relief, I confirmed that Article 129 of the Constitution is still in force and, oddly enough, with its original wording:

"In peacetime, no military authority may exercise functions other than those directly connected with military discipline."
This means that military courts can judge their peers for offenses committed between them, but they are not allowed to involve civilians in their disciplinary conflicts.

So how is it that in the Senate, with haste, and on its knees, as often happens, a bill was passed to reform the Code of Military Justice aimed at allowing members of the Mexican Army to carry out searches of private homes, summons civilians to military courts, intervene in communications and spy on citizens?

La Jornada reporters Andrea Becerril and Víctor Ballinas noticed that PRD senators Dolores Padierna and Angelica de la Peña protested, as usual, against the haste, improvisation and blatant breaking of the internal order of the Congress; that is, they were convened to discuss the bill without the legislators having time to study the legislation.

PRI and PAN members responded to the PRD senators, surely in a solemn and doctoral tone, arguing that the issue had to be rushed, because it had to do with nothing more nor less than the imminent entry into force of the accusatory criminal justice system imposed on us from outside the country [implying the U.S.].

MV Note: The new system of oral, adversarial, public trials, constitutionally mandated in 2008, has to be in place by June of this year. The Congress has been slow in passing necessary implementing legislation. Reform of the Code of Military Justice was part of that.
Actually, the Constitution of 1917 abolished the old inquisitorial system in which the judge investigated crimes and also sanctioned them and an adversarial system was established in which the Public Ministry [investigative police and prosecutors under the attorney general's office] investigates and brings charges and the judge decides.

The in-depth discussion has not taken place, but it should. This is not a minor issue, it may be the turning point of what little we have left of civil liberties and individual rights. The group Lawyers for Justice and Human Rights, led by the lawyer and tireless defender José Lavanderos, raised his voice to warn that if rules are adopted by which the military are authorized to act against civilians, we would be "formally" converting ourselves into a totalitarian state.

Lavanderos is right: it will be formalizing totalitarianism, which in reality, is already present in roads, towns, villages and even in large cities, where in the presence of the military, there is no law other than that of their submachine gun or pistol cocked.

Lavanderos is right. Now we can also argue that military interventions violate not only constitutional provisions, but also their own military law of war. If carte blanche is given to the reforms that threaten us, things can get even darker for the people of Mexico.

Aware citizens, human rights defenders, teachers of law, cannot allow that a reform of this size is approved. Legislators, even if it is on an exceptional basis, should clearly realize what they have been asked or ordered to approve constitutes a danger for justice and freedom. Enabling the military to carry out police activities, investigate crimes or participate in the work of preventive police is a serious mistake. It should be an affront to the soldiers themselves and is undoubtedly a constitutional violation because Articles 13 and 129 of the Mexican Constitution are still in force.

It is well known that once the armed forces are outside their barracks it is not easy to return them. It will be worse if the reforms give them legal--if not constitutional--powers such that civilians, their property, their privacy and their means of communication remain in their hands. Spanish original

*Bernardo Bátiz Vásquez is a Mexican lawyer. He was chief prosecutor for the Federal District (Mexico City) under the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2000-2006) and has been a federal deputy in Congress.Reed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-56459100498878848242016-05-02T15:06:00.000-05:002016-05-02T15:06:03.140-05:00Mexico Government: Political Dinosaurs Are Going Extinct

President Enrique Peña Nieto,
with (left) Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Secretary of Government Relations, and
(right) Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, Secretary of Defense
 Photo: Cuartoscuro

Sinembargo: Jorge Zepeda Patterson*
Translated by Ruby Izar-Shea

"When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there"; says Monterroso's famous story that many of us have used as an allegory to describe the PRI [Party of the Institutional Revolution]. What hasn't been said is that the dinosaur could be there, but not its world; reality had changed.

That's exactly the feeling I get from the different prehistoric species that govern us. They can still be found in Los Pinos [Presidential residence and offices] and Congress's Chambers, in the secretariats and in conversations in swanky restaurants, surrounded by bodyguards and courtiers. They read in their news summaries their chosen columnists who reiterate how powerful they are and celebrate among themselves the latest political joke or the newest rumor about the next president.

They have not realized their world is confined to those small spaces, to those Jurassic Park islets, with their backs to a world that has changed. They think they are still living in that reality in which it was enough to not speak about something for it to "disappear", as Enrique Peña Nieto attempted to do with the insecurity in the first two years of his government. Or in which an official version, as absurd as it seemed, could be imposed by the simple act of placing it in the headlines of pro-government newspapers and complaisant evening newscasts, as was attempted to do with the "historical truth" given by former attorney general Murillo Karam about the Ayotzinapa students' disappearance.

It worked with the Tlatelolco massacre, when Jacobo Zabludovsky, then a Televisa newscaster, opened the evening news saying that October 2 [1968] had been a sunny day and later described "the incident" as chaos created by students.

Today's dinosaurs think they are in that 1968. It took the President 17 months to go to Iguala, scene of the worst tragedy of his presidential term, because he simply did not understand the rush. His government had already given a placating explanation and he had seen it published in the newspapers he read all his life.

Social networks explode again and again with the scandal of the week and they don't acknowledge them. The unexplained wealth of governors and cabinet secretaries goes viral in cyberspace, but they think it's an acceptable price to pay to insure their children's patrimony (and the next five generations). The mirreyes and "ladys" [men acting like kings and their women] follow one another as trending topics but the dinosaurs assume it's part of a circus entertainment, young people acting out, or in the worst case, an anomaly, a frivolity. As long as it doesn't show up in their news summaries it's nothing serious, although the summaries they receive reflects the world as it was twenty years ago, because anyone under forty doesn't get their information from those sources, but from the ones the politicians ignore.

The foreign press and international organizations question the Mexican government about its inexplicable indifference to corruption, impunity, insecurity and violation of human rights, and they, the dinosaurs, can't understand why they are so disliked. They think Americans and Europeans want to see what's wrong with Mexico, but not with their own countries; or it's just plain naiveté to believe Mexican activists and journalists, always so "prone to scandal and exaggeration".

The dinosaur ignores that globalization ended their confined spaces and ended the possibility to dictate historical truths. It's scarcely begun to learn that these small and insignificant individuals who lack the claws and fangs of power can take him down thanks to orchestrated action. It won't be using spears but by the effect of mass signatures, viral tweets and leaks about infamies and corruptions. A barrage of small arrows that have begun to irritate and obstruct the comings and goings of the once powerful and unbeatable mastodons.

And one day the dinosaur wakes up, sees the surveys and realizes the world repudiates him; he can't leave the palace unless his court creates a scenario; he can only move if he carries with him his Jurassic Park. He discovers he is there, but his world isn't. One day the dinosaur will wake up and it won't be there. Spanish original

*Jorge Zepeda Patterson is an economist, writer of novels, political analyst and journalist. He holds a Masters in Social Sciences from the Latin American Faculty in Social Sciences (FLASCO) and did studies for a Doctorate in Political Science at the Sorbonne in Paris. He was a journalist for El País in Madrid, Spain. In 1991 he founded the newspaper Siglo 21 (Twenty-first Century) in Guadalajara. He has been a director of the newspaper, El Universal. In 2011 he founded the online news site www.sinembargo.mx, which he directs. He is also a professor at the University of Guadalajara. @jorgezepedap www.jorgezepeda.netReed Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-34164210483388395442016-05-02T14:13:00.000-05:002016-05-02T14:13:19.287-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: Experts Reveal Final Recommendations to Attorney GeneralCNN Expansion: On Sunday, the experts appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to assist in the investigation into the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students revealed the recommendations it made to the Mexican attorney general, including "changing the narrative of the case."

The members of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE) reported in a press statement the suggestions they gave on April 29 to the Attorney General, Arely Gómez, "to give continuity to the work of investigation into the case."

In the document, the IGIE says its investigation has shown

"many elements that challenge many circumstances taken as valid in the so-called 'historical truth'" proclaimed in January 2015 by the then Attorney General Jesus Murillo.
According to that version, the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School were detained the night of September 26, 2014 in Iguala, Guerrero, by corrupt police, who handed them over to members of the Warriors United cartel, which killed them and cremated their remains in a garbage dump in the neighboring municipality of Cocula.

However, the investigation by the IGIE, whose work in the country ended in April after 14 months indicated that there was no scientific evidence to confirm that the 43 young people were burned at the dump. This conclusion was supported by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), who also collaborated in the investigation at the request of the families of the victims.

"In April 2016, it is time that the PGR change its public version of the facts and incorporate the findings that explain both the motivations of the students as well as the development of the events and the lack of clarity about the fate" of the students, the IGIE said in its recommendations.
According to the Group,

"the narrative which has been put forth so far as to the final scene regarding the 43 normal school students in the Cocula dump should be questioned, given the scientific studies already submitted by the IGIE and EAAF, including those who say it isn't possible to answer to that question (the destiny of the students) and those who say new experimental studies [of the dump] are needed."
It also believes it is necessary to

"adequately investigate other serious human rights violations and crimes that were presented in the case and that they be so categorized by the judges in charge of the criminal cases."
Such crimes cited include enforced disappearances, murder, attempted murder, concealment, obstruction of justice and abuse of authority, torture, excessive use of force and threats and injuries suffered by the surviving students.

It also indicated that the search procedures should not be interrupted because students are still missing.

"As long as the facts are not fully clarified and the whereabouts of the normal school students are not determined, the search must continue.

"Enforced disappearance is a violation of human rights of permanent character and causes an open wound for the relatives who need answers that generate credibility and trust, and it doesn't have to do with givinge answers that are not based on scientific evidence and investigation according to international standards," the IGIE said.
The members of the IGIE, Alejandro Valencia, Angela Buitrago, Carlos Beristain, Claudia Paz and Francisco Cox, also recommended keeping open spaces for dialogue and communication with the families of the victims and ensuring their safety.

"The Group hopes that the findings and proposals for investigation, as well as structural recommendations regarding the administration of justice, searches for the disappeared and attention to victims will strengthen the rule of law and the fight against impunity," they said.
Finally the Group, whose relations with the government plummeted due to numerous inconsistencies in the official version identified by the experts, thanked

"the State, representatives of the victims, relatives and Mexico for the opportunity to carry out its work despite the difficulties.

"Above all, we are also grateful for the support, care and continuous monitoring of our work by many sectors of Mexican and international society," it said.
Spanish originalReed Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-15549056797837087722016-05-02T13:34:00.000-05:002016-05-02T13:34:41.065-05:00Mexico Government Sees Critics as "In a Bad Mood"Reforma: Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez*
Translated by Amanda Moody

Sooner or later, the politician feels misunderstood. He is convinced that he has achieved great, unrecognised successes. He applauds his reforms and the changes he's made. He can show a table full of numbers which speak in his favor, and yet people turn their backs on him. Ingrates: he's done so much for them and this is how they repay him!

Amongst such politicians are president Peña Nieto and his court. They have an explanation: Mexicans are in a bad mood. And their bad mood affects their judgment. They have before them the wonders produced by the government, but they are unable to appreciate them. Perhaps they are sleep-deprived, don't enjoy their breakfast juice and live with furrowed brows. So they don't applaud the government.

The only people who do not suffer from these emotional disturbances are the members of the presidential circle. They know that the country is doing well. The Secretary of Social Development calls on us to stop being in a bad mood and to recognize that we are lucky to have Enrique Peña Nieto as our president. Criticizing his government is absurd. In his judgement, we Mexicans enjoy complaining because we don't like reality. "Sometimes we like to be in a bad mood", he says, "we like to say that things are going wrong, sometimes we like to say that things in the country are not working".

Beyond the crude flattery, it would be worthwhile to try and understand how this official sees the country. Mexico seems to him to be a hypochondriac: a people who imagine themselves sick when they are in perfect health, tormenting themselves with imaginary sufferings, refusing to enjoy their vigor. This seems to be how the President himself sees things, he also speaks of the Mexicans' bad mood. Peña Nieto attributes this infection of imaginary problems to the media. Commentaries, reports and columns are to blame for that blindness which produces bad moods.

Perhaps the criticism should be expanded: the bad mood is not only present here, but is a global epidemic. There don't seem to be many people outside our borders who call us lucky for the honesty of our officials, for the legality of their ways, for the clarity of their arguments. Nor is it easy to detect smiling people celebrating the country's respect for human rights, the advances in press freedom, the exemplary nature of our democracy. They are people in a bad mood, rejecting the reality of this Mexico from outside the country.

A real conspiracy of bad temper insists on denying the wonders of Mexico and its government. The various international bodies who refuse to recognize the great statesman who, fortunately, governs us ... are in a bad mood. Perhaps she breakfasted in a hurry or the coffee was cold. Maybe Hillary Clinton read an aggressive article against herself the day when she spoke on the condition of human rights in Mexico. There must have been something; she wasn't able to make an objective judgment, she said she was concerned about torture practiced in Mexico. She must have been very upset when she expressed her outrage at the disappearance of the student teachers, slipping in a (diplomatic but severe) criticism on the attitude of the Mexican government. Her ostensible anger prevented her from seeing the reality: torture is a bizarre practice in Mexico and the Mexican government conducted an exemplary investigation that has gained enormous credibility in the country and outside it.

Every international organization portraying us has also been in a bad mood recently. The United Nations rapporteur on torture did not display the impartiality of joy when he presented his report on Mexico. He was so out of sorts that he said torture and ill-treatment were widespread practices in the country.

In a bad mood: the experts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, who disagree with the conclusions of the government and denounce the use of torture and the fabrication of evidence.

In a bad mood: the New York Times when describing the Mexican government as an insensitive government that "runs away" from the truth.

In a bad mood: all the international media who report on the contempt of the government and its party for the cause of transparency and the fight against corruption.

In a bad mood: the international press agencies who report setbacks in freedom of expression.

The truth is that the world is in a bad mood.

Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.

*Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez, Mexican academic and essayist, is the son of noted economist Jesús Silva-Herzog Flores, and grandson of historian Jesús Silva Herzog. Born in 1965, he studied law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and has an MA in political science from Columbia University. He is currently a professor in the School of Government of Monterrery Tech . He is a columnist for Reforma and host of "Between Three" on TV Azteca. @jshm00
Amanda Moodyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-33177041679794765622016-05-02T10:41:00.002-05:002016-05-02T10:44:08.459-05:00Mexico: Ayotzinapa Exposes Corrupt Justice SystemReforma: Ana Laura Magaloni Kerpel*

Translated by Amanda Coe

The IGIE [Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts] report on Ayotzinapa demonstrates, in many ways, how the federal government does not want to know the truth about the tragic events of September 26 and 27, 2014. The cost to the government and, in particular to President Peña Nieto is very high. How serious is what's being hidden that the President decides to pay that cost? I find it incomprehensible.

I also find it incomprehensible that the federal government may have orchestrated the participation of an international group of experts and, all the while, wanted to hide the truth. It was predictable that that group of experts, because of the integrity of its members, would not play along with the dissimulation. Did they really not foresee it? It is very serious that they may not have even imagined the international discredit that was going to be brought upon the country and the very administration that they lead. How will outsiders view Mexico after what the IGIE has revealed? The discourse about structural reforms is so contradictory with the facts and investigation of the Ayotzinapa case that this administration has not achieved projecting the image of a modern Mexico. Why has Peña Nieto decided to pay this cost? Once again, I do not understand.

What I do understand, and the Ayotzinapa case again confirms it for me, is that a properly running democratic political system requires, at its core, a system for the prosecution of justice autonomous from politics. One in which no one, including the President, can manipulate, stop, or influence criminal investigations, let alone, the decision of the Public Ministry [prosecutors and investigative police] to file a formal accusation against the person they believe to be responsible, whoever it may be. The threat of punishment must be equal for everyone, including the political and economic elite. This literally means the reformation of the offices of [federal and state] attorneys general.

During the authoritarian regime [one-party rule by the PRI, Party of the Institutional Revolution], attorneys general offices were built on the opposite premise: to be a credible threat of punishment for opponents to power and, at the same time, be an instrument to protect and keep "friends" together. The latter is not trivial: given that the political order was formed from alliances and loyalties, ensuring criminal impunity for the ruling coalition was one of the most important sources in reducing the temptation to leave the coalition. All this required wide areas of discretion to manipulate the investigations and criminal accusations in either direction. It also demanded that the attorney general in turn and the bureaucratic system he led were in line with the President in office.

The administration of justice, in this sense, became a way of exercising power. The democratic transition did not include the reformation of this institution. The difference is that now discretionary power is exercised in a decentralized manner by governors and the President. They each rely on a attorney general office to their liking. The Ayotzinapa case investigation is a clear example of what this means. But so are the cases of the Porkys in Veracruz [group of wealthy youth who raped a girl and haven't been prosecuted] or the death of the youth, José Luis Tehuatlie, from a rubber bullet fired by Puebla police, in response to which the state attorney general's office did nothing to clarify what happened [until after the National Human Rights Commission investigated and found state police cupable].

The question we must answer is in what context and under what circumstances governors of the states and the president will cede the power given to them relying on an attorney general office who is to their liking. Many point out that in 2018, the PGR [Procuraduria General de la Republica = Attorney General's Office] will be independent because it will become an autonomous constitutional body—the Fiscalía General [also = Attorney General's Office]—and the fiscal [attorney general] will be baroquely appointed [by the Congress]. This will not create the political autonomy I'm talking about.

Reforming the Attorney General's office means rebuilding the bureaucratic system from the bottom up. It is a very important institutional reengineering in order that all Public Ministry agents know that their work and performance will be measured solely by their success in the investigation and prosecution of complex and challenging cases. And no one, not even the attorney general, can interfere with that. The Ayotzinapa case is a paradigmatic example of how far we are from this happening.

Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.

*Ana Laura Magaloni Kerpel, Doctorate in Law, Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain); Research Professor, National System of Researchers at Center for Research and Economic Teaching (CIDE). Research Areas: Supreme Court and Comparative Constitutional Justice; Empirical Studies of Institutions of Justice; Institutions of Prosecution and Enforcement of Justice.
Amanda Coehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-59601161575789060812016-04-30T14:02:00.000-05:002016-04-30T14:02:55.218-05:00Mexico Justice System: Law Allowing Military Searches of Civilian Homes Will Result in Major Human Rights ViolationsLa Jornada: Alma E. Muñoz

The Human Rights Network All Rights for Everyone warned that the approval of amendments to the Code of Military Justice which allow the armed forces to carry out searches in private homes, in offices of the federal government, the Legislature, the Judiciary and decentralized agencies is a legal way for individual rights to be violated.

Fernando Ríos Martínez, executive secretary of the organization which brings together dozens of human rights groups, questioned the way the Senate approved the changes which, he said, go against Article One of the Constitution and internationally recognized positions.

"It took us by surprise; it was voted on in the early morning hours, suddenly, without respecting legislative protocols. Certainly, we will try to have an action of unconstitutionality issued," he said. [MV Note: The National Human Rights Commission can present a challenge of unconstitutionality of a law to the Supreme Court.]
He regretted the adoption of the reform, because its rejection

"was an opportunity to move towards the new criminal justice system with a high commitment to human rights, but we see that there was no intention by the Senate to open the discussion to civilian human rights groups who fight for controls that provide greater citizen security."

He emphasized that this is a very serious situation, because it occurs in the context of a severe human rights crisis in the country. But, he stressed, it is part of "a wave of control of civilians" by the authorities.

"We are very concerned because we have seen a number of cases, such as Tlatlaya [where soldiers summarily executed supposed criminals who had surrendered] or many others, from the beginning of the presidency of Felipe Calderon [who, in 2006, initiated using the army against drug cartels], with excessive use of force by the military, which has led to a worsening of security conditions in the country."

Ríos Martínez said the searches are the most serious points of the reform, because the armed forces may enter any site, which will result in major violations for civilians. Spanish original

Reed Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-1462109449679323332016-04-30T11:07:00.001-05:002016-05-04T20:08:54.896-05:00Mexico Justice System: Senate Authorizes Military Searches of Private Homes and Intercepting CommunicationsProceso: Jenaro Villamil*

In the early hours of Friday morning, the Senate approved reforms to the Code of Military Justice which empowers military judges of control [who oversee cases being processed] to be able to order military searches of private homes, authorizes the interception of private oral, written, electronic and digital communications, and restricts journalists access to oral military trials. Legislators passed the bill without question by 78 votes in favor from the PRI [Party of the Institutional Revolution], PAN [National Action Party] and Green Ecology Party [PVEM], with 27 votes against from the PRD [Party of the Democratic Revolution] and PT [Labor Party].

The Chamber of Deputies has already passed the legislation and the Senate made no changes, even though the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that its contains several powers that are violations of individual rights.

Senators Alejandro Encinas [PRD] and Manuel Bartlett [PT] argued that the new law "facilitates the state of exception" and moved to suspend debate of the bill. Senator Bartlett argued against the initiative, saying,

"Thus military dictatorships begin and end: you don't play with guns." He said the law gives "excessive powers" to the armed forces, "creates a dictatorial system, goes beyond discipline of the military, violates the Constitution, exalts the military and violates popular sovereignty."
Bartlett also questioned the senators who supported this bill:

"What do searches of private homes have to do the with disciplining the military? Do you realize what you are doing? You are authorizing that the military can search the Senate, itself."
Senator Alejandro Encinas emphasized the danger of giving military prosecutors the power to engage in intelligence work, intercept telephone communications and order civilians to appear before military courts.

In presenting her vote, Senator Dolores Padierna, of the PRD, also stressed that these changes encourage military impunity because:

"to be tried by a military court makes it impossible to try [soldiers] in civilian courts, thus ensuring impunity for the military who commit crimes against civilians."

MV Note: The Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that military personnel accused of violating the rights of citizens must be tried in civilian courts.
Padierna also questioned that part of the Code that authorizes the interrogation of children.

"Are they thinking, perhaps, of using children as witnesses?" asked the PRD senator.
The president of the Commission on Human Rights, Angelica de la Peña, of the PRD, also condemned the "express" drafting of the bill in committees and stressed that these reforms go against the protection of victims.

"It is worryisome that the victims are hardly being considered, as their only right that is recognized is to monetary damages, without considering comprehensive compensation," argued De la Peña.
PT Senator Marco Antonio Blásquez also warned that approving these reforms will limit media coverage of military trials...

Wanting to approve the legislation before the end Congress's regular session [today, April 30. It convenes again Sept. 1], the senators of the PRI, PAN and Green Party did not respond to the questions posed by the PRD and PT caucuses. They argued in favor of the bill, noting that through this reform the War Councils are deleted, judges of control are created and the Attorney General of Military Justice is eliminated. Spanish original

*Jenaro Villamil Rodríguez is a Mexican journalist and writer specializing in politics and mass media. He completed undergraduate studies in political science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He began as a reporter for El Financiero (1989-1994) and was editor of El Financiero Sureste (1994-1996) and Coordinator of Special Affairs for La Jornada. Currently, he is a reporter for Proceso. He is also a contributor to the news portal sinembargo.mx and the magazine Zocalo. Since 2011 he has maintained a blog specializing in communications and telecommunications: homozapping.com.mx. Twitter: @jenarovillamilReed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-43856352443861647582016-04-30T10:04:00.003-05:002016-04-30T10:04:53.185-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: With IGIE's Departure, Mexico Loses Opportunity to Change Its Justice System - Executive Secretary of InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights

Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Executive Secretary of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Photo: Cuartoscuro/Archive

Aristegui Noticias:

The departure of the Interdisciplinary Group of International Experts (IGIE) and the few answers for families of the 43 disappeared students damaged Mexico's image and the opportunity to transform the corrupt justice system was lost, warned the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH).

In an interview with Reforma conducted in Bogotá, Colombia, CIDH Executive Secretary, Emilio Álvarez Icaza [a Mexican whose term ends in August and who plans to return to Mexico], stated that the enforced disappearance of persons is a grave issue, such that the Ayotzinapa case is emblematic.

At the end of a panel held as part of the International Week of Civil Society, Álvarez Icaza asked,

"Why is Ayotzinapa emblematic? Because it is the tip of an iceberg reflecting a much larger problem ... (enforced disappearance) is a phenomenon that isn't just right now, but in its essence it reflected the problem of the complicity of authorities with drug traffickers and criminals."
It is the loss of an opportunity, he said, to transform a damaged, corrupt and inefficient justice system:

"Once again, Mexico is losing the ability to transform what its citizens demand—that being a justice system that works."
(With information from Reforma). Spanish original
Jane Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-74297930032374668912016-04-29T10:35:00.000-05:002016-04-29T10:47:36.618-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: Government Takes Path of No Return With Lies of Justice Official Tomás ZerónReforma: Carmen Aristegui F.*

If at the time of publication of this article, Friday morning, Mr. Tomás Zerón Lucio has not resigned or been removed from office, we will be made to know, more forcefully than ever, that the government of Peña Nieto is unsalvageable, that it does not appear to have a remedy and that Mexico will enter a path of major confrontations. If something so elemental has not happened by then, the distance between the government and society will be unbridgeable.

Mr. Zerón is not the only one but, at this time, he is the most visible face of a government that has entered a spiral of distortion, lies and extremely serious and dangerous obstinacy. With its management of the most emblematic, painful and absurd case in recent years—Ayotzinapa—the government has entered a phase of worsening a deep crisis of discredit and distrust.

Misrepresentation, crafty arrangement of data, names and situations—to make tally what doesn't tally—is what remains crudely exhibited in the last episode featuring members of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE) and the director of the Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) of the PGR, Tomás Zerón Lucio.

This results from his public display of a video recorded the day before [Oct. 28, 2014] the police search [Oct. 29, 2014] in which, according to the PGR's version, bags that allegedly contained the remains of cremated normal school students were found. The immediate reaction of the IGIE, the denial by the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, the explanation by the photojournalists who recorded the images exhibiting Zerón's actions were swift and forceful. To lie, distort and adjust data to one's wishes, so crudely, cannot but have consequences.

The flood of denials that immediately sprang forth in response to what Tomás Zerón said are, among other things, an embarrassment to Mexico. The UN Office of Human Rights said that

"... we never got to the San Juan River, and therefore did not witness the actions taken by the PGR in the area."
It expressed its complete rejection of

"... the mention of its presence and role in PGR activities in which it never participated."
The IGIE accused him of misrepresenting information and making "inappropriate" statements that aggravate the Iguala case.

Already at the edge of the abyss with this issue, the government of Peña Nieto stepped forward with a press conference on Wednesday given by Zerón. His conduct was suicidal. The costs paid by the government, inside and outside Mexico, are enormous. The obstinacy and stubbornness in the face of the evidence and the work of international experts do nothing but feed the already enormous suspicion.

What explains the suicidal behavior of a government that does not change direction with Ayotzinapa case, which is demanded of it with screams? What is it hiding? What cannot be revealed? What is behind all of this? If the Mexican government insists on what was already scientifically ruled out, if it allows or promotes the dissimulation, lies and machinations in its explanations, something truly serious has happened, something serious, very serious from the first minute.

The resignation or dismissal of Tomás Zerón, which is inevitable, will not do anything, not even as a safety valve, if a radical rethinking of the official investigation is not done, based on what has been done by the IGIE and the Argentine Forensic Team and the experts who have collaborated to unravel the truth. Only then could it turn around what the New York Times captured in one sentence:

"Mexico runs away from truth in Ayotzinapa case."
With the Ayotzinapa case, the government not only hasn´t broken the impasse, but, every day and hour that passes, digs itself deeper into this grave from which it has been unable or unwilling to get out, despite the increasing disrepute. Lying, torturing and creating stagings in an investigation with these dimensions would be sufficient reason to replace the entire official team that has been at the forefront of the investigation and, consequently, open criminal investigations to determine all kinds of responsibilities.

What terrible thing is behind all this? What steps will the government of Peña Nieto take in this, its path of no return?

Note: Recognition to the independent photojournalists, José Giménez and Daniel Rodríguez, who recorded the video that exposed the serious conduct not only of Tomás Zerón but of the entire institutional framework put in the service of the lies and machinations in the Ayotzinapa case.

Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.

*Carmen Aristegui F. is a journalist. A graduate of the UNAM, she is a radio and TV host and commentator and Reforma columnist. A lecturer and author of books, she has been awarded the National Journalism Award, the Iberoamerican Prize, the Maria Moors Cabot Prize, and the Order of the Legion of Honor by the French Government. She is moderator of the program "Aristegui" on CNN in Spanish. She directs the web portal Aristegui News. Until early March 2015, she was director of the First Edition (morning program) of MVS News (radio). She and her investigative team were fired for unclear reasons after they had exposed the purchase of the "White House" of President Peña Nieto's wife, Angélica Rivera, from the Higa Group, a major government contractor.Reed Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-35492318582868291742016-04-29T08:59:00.000-05:002016-04-29T08:59:08.813-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team Confirms Interamerican Team's Account of Events at San Juan RiverAristegui Noticias

The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) confirmed the version of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE) regarding their ignorance and lack of access to information regarding the search at the San Juan River, Cocula, on October 28, 2014, recognized by Tomás Zerón, head of the Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) of the PGR [Office of the Attorney General].

In a statement, the EAAF noted:

"The EAAF had no knowledge of, nor did it have access to, any expert or ministerial document regarding the search carried out by the PGR on the banks of the San Juan River on October 28, 2014, that would involve the presence of expert forensic physicians or anthropologists."

Although the head of the CIA [Zerón] recognized having been in the company of Agustín García Reyes, one of those allegedly responsible for the disappearance of 43 students, he stated that the search was transparent and within the law.

Likewise, the Argentine team repeated that it received neither information nor presentation of the [plastic] bag with the probable remains of student Alexander Mora Venancio, which were recovered by Marines, and the EAAF insisted that they only have a certificate issued by the Public Ministry [prosecutorial role inside PGR] indicating that the evidence was found on October 29, 2014, at the edge of the San Juan River.

The EAAF statement concludes:

"Regarding the bag at the San Juan River. The EAAF reiterates once again that it was neither present at the time that the bag, according to the PGR, was recovered from the San Juan River nor was it present when, according to PGR, the bone fragment was recovered from said bag and that resulted in the identification of student Alexander Mora Venancio. Likewise, the EAAF repeatedly requested from the PGR the chain of custody related to finding the bag, to date relying solely on a certificate issued by the Public Prosecutor stating that on October 29, 2014, Navy divers delivered the bag to him."

Complete EAAF Statement:

EAAF Issues Position on Tomás Zerón Press Conference

Regarding the press conference held yesterday, April 27, 2016, by Tomás Zerón, Director of the Criminal Investigation Agency, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) wishes to make the following clarifications:

1. On the afternoon of October 28, 2014, upon descending from the Cocula Garbage Dump and traveling along the road bordering the San Juan River, the vehicles carrying EAAF experts and experts from Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) were stopped by security personnel indicating that at the moment it wasn't possible to pass, without further explanation.

Immediately afterwards, a Public Prosecutor from the PGR presented himself to the EAAF experts and, suddenly and violently, using language extremely improper for a Public Prosecutor in issuing multiple epithets against the EAAF, asked us why we had come down so early from the Cocula Garbage Dump.

The Argentine Team explained that both the PGR and EAAF experts had agreed not to descend from the Cocula Garbag Dump after dark for security reasons, knowing that the rest of the way from Cocula to Chilpancingo there was no alternative but to travel at night. In this regard, the EAAF confirms the version of the events presented by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE) in its April 24, 2016, press conference.

2. The EAAF had no knowledge of, nor did it have access to, any expert or ministerial document regarding actions carried out by the PGR on the banks of the San Juan River on October 28, 2014, that would involve the presence of expert physicians or anthropologists.

3. Regarding the bag at the San Juan River. The EAAF reiterates once again that it was neither present at the time that the bag, according to the PGR, was recovered from the San Juan River nor was it present when, according to PGR, the bone fragment was recovered from said bag and that resulted in the identification of student Alexander Mora Venancio. Likewise, the EAAF repeatedly requested from the PGR the chain of custody related to finding the bag, to date relying solely on a certificate issued by the Public Prosecutor stating that on October 29, 2014, Navy divers delivered the bag to him. Spanish original
Jane Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-8025938915793200162016-04-28T20:31:00.001-05:002016-04-29T09:05:51.772-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: Tomás Zerón and the Dark Hand of Los Pinos

Tomás Zerón should be removed from the PGR, and investigated thoroughly.
Photo: Cuartoscuro.

Sinembargo: Martín Moreno*

When the interrogations in the Ayotzinapa case were occurring, the head of the Warriors United, Sidronio Casarrubias, swore that the Attorney General of Guerrero, Iñaky Blanco, received money to support this criminal organization. However, days later, Sidronio himself recanted the allegation. Who would have advised the criminal leader to implicate Blanco? Sources consulted by this columnist said it was the Head of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Attorney General, Tomás Zerón.

Yes, the same Zerón who is now has Los Pinos [presidential residence and offices] in check before the eyes of the world, because, according to the complaint made by the IGIE [Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts] last Sunday, based on photos and video taken by reporters Daniel Rodriguez and Jose Manuel Gimenez near the San Juan River, everything suggests that "he planted" the remains of Alexander Mora Venancio so that, the next day, they were "discovered" by divers from the PGR.

Why sow the remains of an Ayotzinapa student in the river on October 28, 2014?

To produce their "discovery" in the search the next day and thus send the findings to the University of Innsbruck knowing with certainty what the response would be to the remains in the plastic bag: yes, they belonged to Alexander. According to what the IGIE reported, Zerón carried with him the two bags that would be found on October 29!

Why ask the University of Innsbruck for a scientific analysis to identify the remains found in the San Juan River?

Because just ten days later, on November 7, Attorney General Murillo Karam based his "historical truth" on what the PGR knew beforehand would be confirmed by the University: the remains of Alexander definitely were in the Cocula garbage dump and were subsequently thrown into the San Juan River, just as the detainees declared. The report from Austria arrived a month after the attorney general's press conference (December 7). Everything tallied.

Why did Zerón take Agustin Garcia Reyes, alias "El Chereje" on that clandestine visit to the dump on October 28?

Because "Chereje" would be the star witness of the PGR during Murillo Karam's press conference on November 7, 2014, where, as it happened, with mathematical precision as admirable as precise, he said "44 or 43" normal school students were brought to the dump to be killed, burned and disappeared. "The Chereje" had been schooled in the place "crime," and to do so, it was necessary to take him there.

Based on these virtually irrefutable proofs, it appears that the remains of normal school student Alexander Mora Venancio—the only one definitely identified, so far, of the 43 disappeared—were planted by Zerón.

Therefore, Tomás Zerón should be removed from the PGR, and investigated thoroughly.

MV Note: The author here gives detailed background about Zerón being a member of a group of close associates of Enrique Peña Nieto. When Peña Nieto was governor of the State of Mexico (2005-2011), Zerón worked in the state Attorney General's office with Alfredo Castillo, later President Peña Nieto's special commissioner for security in Michoacán. Their boss was Alberto Bazbaz. All of them were involved in the infamous "Paulette" case of a young girl reported missing by her parents and who, after many days of searches, was found dead in her bed, squeezed between the mattress and the headboard. Neither the parents or anyone else was charged with the crime.
Did Los Pinos know about the undeniable stagings that Zerón made in the Ayotzinapa case? It seems difficult that neither Humberto Castillejos [legal counsel to the president] nor Enrique Peña Nieto were totally oblivious to what Zerón prepared just to sustain what today is the deflated "historical truth" disclosed by Murillo Karam and certainly buttressed by the work of Zerón.

But living memory: if Peña Nieto agreed and endorsed the staging arranged by Alfredo Castillo in the Paulette case (Castillo always knew that the girl's parents, Lizette Farah and Mauricio Gebara, confessed to having been responsible for the disappearance of their daughter, as evidenced in my book "Paulette, What Wasn't Said," and they never received punishment), why now not cover up an obvious "planting" of evidence in the Ayotzinapa case, now that the Peña Nieto government is sunk into the abyss of international disrepute?

It would turn out to be unattached to reality, knowing the "modus operandi" of the Toluca Group, that denies in Los Pinos knowing the maneuvers of Tomás Zerón.

Familiarity or not, Zerón should explain what he was doing on the banks of San Juan River, why he was carrying the bags found the next day, and why his search—to call it something—was not included in the official record.

*****

The members of IGIE are going, but they seem to be carrying the head of Tomás Zerón in their suitcase. The evidence is overwhelming.

And the scandal comes just as the Peña Nieto government gets a slap on the wrist from Washington, where the IGIE is applauded, and they require that Peña address their recommendations. They won't do it. Peña and his team have only lost the compass and only try to govern in order to reach the shore without drowning rather than produce results. They are struck down.

We'll see if Zerón remains protected by his old friends, Peña Nieto and Humberto Castillejos, even at the cost of greater disrepute to the Mexican government.

We'll see if he stays in the PGR or goes.

Common sense—and we're not speaking of ethics—indicates that Tomás Zerón's hours in the PGR are numbered. Spanish original

*Martín Moreno is a columnist and radio host. His is the author of books By the Father's Hand, The Wallace Case, Paulette: What Wasn't Said, and Abuse of Power in Mexico. @_martinmoreno
Reed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-67796233005954862232016-04-28T17:35:00.000-05:002016-04-29T09:42:38.677-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: UN Human Rights Office Contradicts Government Offficial Who Says They Witnessed His Search on Oct. 28, 2014Sinembargo: Shaila Rosagel

The United Nations denied its staff had witnessed the search undertaken by the head of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC), Tomás Zerón Lucio, as the official stated yesterday.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner in Mexico said this afternoon in a statement:

"The UN Human Rights Office never went to the San Juan River, and therefore did not witness the search carried out by the PGR in the area. Nor was it aware of the presence of Mr. Agustin Garcia Reyes [detainee who supposedly led the PGR to location on the river where plastic bags were found the next day that ostensibly contained burned remains of Ayotzinapa students]."
Therefore, it added,

"the UN-DH expresses its complete separation from the mention of its presence and role in activities of the PGR in which it never participated, as well as unnecessary media exposure to its image and the names of an official and a former official of the Office."
The UN said that on October 28, 2014, its staff arrived in a helicopter belonging to the PGR at the Cocula soccer field around 4:10 pm and were taken immediately to the Cocula garbage dump. It explained that its visit aimed to document the alleged findings related to the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students in that dump, within the framework of its mandate of observation.

Yesterday, Zerón Lucio presented a video of his tour of the San Juan river which he said was to assist the investigations by prosecutors and that it was legally supported. The official also said that during his search he was attended by representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner who had been invited by the then Attorney Jesús Murillo Karam.

For its part, the UN agency called for

"all efforts to be focused on clarifying the whereabouts of the students; the investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible; the reparation of victims; and full implementation of the recommendations of the IGIE [Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts], according to the terms stated by the President of the Republic and the Attorney General of the Republic on Sunday April 24th."
Finally, it reiterated

"its solidarity with the victims, their families and their advocates and offers its full availability to provide advice and support as required."
The version offered last night the head of the AIC was criticized today by the IGIE, who said the video presented by Zerón is edited and not part of the Iguala case file...

Meanwhile, the PGR announced this afternoon that the General Inspectorate, attached to the Deputy Attorney General for Human Rights has opened an investigation into the actions of public servants of the PGR regarding the search carried out near the San Juan River on October 28, 2014. The agency said that the office [currently] investigating the Iguala case [the Human Rights division] alerted the supervisory body in order that the corresponding responsibilities be determined.

In a statement released to various media, the PGR said that the Inspectorate will investigate whether public servants incurred some kind of irregularity in the performance of their duties or committed any kind of crime, as provided for in the Federal Law of Administrative Accountability...

Meanwhile deputies of the National Action Party (PAN) and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) demanded the resignation of the PGR official....Spanish originalReed Brundagehttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-43122599166042665902016-04-28T16:51:00.001-05:002016-04-29T09:09:07.591-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: Government Justice Official Thomas Zerón Used Tortured Detainee to "Distorted" Reality - Independent Experts

Tomás Zerón,
Director of the Criminal Investigation Agency, of the Attornery General's Office, PGR

Aristegui Noticias:

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts responded to the director of the Criminal Investigation Agency [of the Attorney General's Office, PGR], Tomás Zerón, who, on Wednesday, said his visit to the San Juan River in Cocula, Guerrero, on October 28, 2014, which does not appear in the case file, was "legal and transparent".

Carlos Beristain said the detainee, Agustin Garcia Reyes, was taken to the place, showing signs of torture. The accused had

"numerous physical injuries when he was taken to that place ... (he had) 30 injuries that were not recorded after his arrest [the day before]", he said.
Garcia Reyes had given his statement in the early morning hours of Oct. 28, according to the records of the PGR, i.e., the same day he was taken to the river in Cocula.

Detainee Agustín García Reyes and Head of the Agency for Criminal Investigation

In addition, the expert noted that in his video presented on Wednesday , Zerón "manipulated" the presence of two representatives from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who never were at the San Juan River, but had been invited to tour the Cocula dump that day.

"At no time did (the two envoys) see Garcia Reyes (the detainee) in that place. Mr. Zerón's statements constitute a distortion of reality, The IGIE consider Zerón's statements to be serious," said Beristain.
He called for an impartial investigation of the facts, adding that

"the Criminal Investigation Agency should excluded from any investigation procedure in order to ensure its fairness ." In addition, he asked that "official statements be taken from all officials."
Zerón's behavior, Beristain said,

"is in contradiction with the minimum standards of investigation and, instead, aggravate the problem. The problem is the lack of documentation, failure to follow protocols in collecting evidence," he said.
In this regard, Francisco Cox said behavior of the Criminal Investigation Agency leaves doubts. He said that it is "unacceptable" that an expert dismiss on-site tests, without leaving any record, he added.

Meanwhile, Claudia Paz said the presence of the Office of the UN High Commissioner occurred "when what we saw in the video" had already happened.

"[The UN officials] were invited there, along with the press, to visit the Cocula dump; they were never at the San Juan river," she said. But, she said, Zerón "is suggesting that they were present at the San Juan River." when "they were not present. They came at the invitation of the PGR and were directed to the Cocula dump."
However, she added,

"not even their presence at the site could make Zerón's visit legal", because it "departs from the minimum international standards. No forensic expert can enter a crime scene and manipulate the evidence, None of us could go to a crime scene, walk around it, select evidence and return a day later," she concluded.
In turn, Angela Buitrago added that

"the photo in which the [UN] members that he mentioned appear was taken where the helicopter was, and that site was the Cocula dump, not the San Juan River."
She emphasized that, regarding the presence of Zerón at the San Juan River

"there is no detailed record of the day, September 28, 2014. If that material (the video presented by Zerón) belongs to some investigation, doesn't it have to be in the hands of a police agency?" she said.
She recalled that

"legally, a search ... of a crime scene, or possible collection of evidence must be recorded from the first minute. A crime scene was searched, as you saw in the video Zerón presented for October 28, 2014; it should have been recorded, more so if results are presented (the following day)," she said.
In addition, "a transfer of an accused, as is Mr. Garcia Reyes, who had made his formal statement in the early hours of the day he was moved, should have been done with a protocol ... everything must be documented." Spanish originalReed Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-6795682291317921082016-04-28T15:49:00.002-05:002016-04-29T09:12:41.317-05:00Mexico Ayotzinapa: Independent Experts Say Video of Official's Visit to River Site "Is Edited"CNN Extension:

On Wednesday evening, the director of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) of the PGR, Tomás Zerón, responded to the remarks made by the IGIE [Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts] during their presentation, last Sunday, of their final report on the Ayotzinapa case, in which Mexican authorities were accused of carry out undocumented searches near the San Juan River in Cocula, Guerrero.

"The video presented by the IGIE indicates a wrong time" because it indicates that the tour of the river took place at 5:40 pm, when the search occurred hours before, in the presence of the Argentine forensic team and media representatives, the official said on Wednesday.

Zerón said the search in the San Juan River was conducted with the Argentine experts, after the arrest of Agustin Garcia Reyes, alias El Chereje, a member of the criminal group Warriors United. This prisoner was the one who gave the clue to the authorities to find the place where the remains of the normal school students were allegedly thrown after being burned in the Cocula garbage dump. [MV Note: The Argentine team has stated it was not present, and was, in fact, blocked from approaching the river site that day.]

In response, on Thursday, the IGIE said that the video presented by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) on Wednesday night, which sought to refute the allegations of irregularities in the investigation, was edited and that Mexican authorities do not have the original version.

At a news conference, Carlos Martin Beristain said:

"The performance of the expert services, as well as photographs and videos are not supported in any official document. When the IGIE asked to see the originals, it was pointed out that there is no other documentation than that in the record."
In addition, the Group indicated that the protocol followed by the Mexican authorities on the San Juan River goes against international protocols, as it was without official authorization that Agustin Garcia, one of the alleged members of the criminal group Guerreros United, arrested on October 27, 2014, was brought to the area of the events.

According to the Mexican authorities non-human remains were found in the area adjacent to the Cocula garbage dump, where the bodies of the Ayotzinapa students were allegedly cremated. The experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) rejected that the process was adequate.

"There cannot be any discarding [of evidence] without a record of the action, without stopping the collection of evidence and an evaluation of the sample," said Beristain, who also requested formal statements be taken from those who were present in the area [at that time].
This discrepancy between the PGR and the panel is a nodal point in the investigation of the Ayotzinapa case because it calls into question the version that the students remains were thrown into the San Juan River after being cremated. [According to the official version] skeletal remains of the student Alexander Mora Venancio, were found in a plastic bag in the river. He is the only student definitely identified up to the present [remains of another student were tentatively idendified]. Spanish original
Reed Brundagehttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-38074520449009795932016-04-28T15:03:00.000-05:002016-04-28T15:03:16.518-05:00Sexual Abuse in Mexico: "If You Touch One, We Organize Thousands"

"If you touch one, we organize thousands,"
See photo gallery of march

Animal Político: Nayeli Roldán, Filemón Alonso and Manu Ureste
Translated by Leslie Castillo Navia

Thousands of women took to the streets this past Sunday, April 24th, to speak out against sexual abuse they have endured for years. These are some of their stories.

Irinea Buendía is sure: her daughter Mariana Lima was murdered by her husband. She has been down a tortuous legal path for five years and succeeded in getting the National Supreme Court of Justice to discuss a case of femicide for the first time. When asked why she has continued to fight, she responds without hesitation,

 "I know that no matter what I do, my daughter will not come back to life, but her murderer could kill another woman. If I can save one woman, that is enough for me."
Iriniea's words sum up what happened on April 24th. For the first time, thousands of women took to the streets to speak out against violence they suffer from and, above all, to demand that it stop and that no other woman have to face episodes of violence on the street, in transit, or at home.

They took to the streets and found that thousands of women have experienced the same fear when a man assaults them and have felt pain and helplessness, but not a single one has surrendered.

"If you touch one, we organize thousands," read a banner, and yes; they did just that.
While a reporter was doing a social network broadcast, a woman wanted to give her testimony:

"I'm here because my friend's daughter was left barely breathing on the streets of Mexico City after a gang rape. Over the past three months, she has tried to commit suicide three times. I'm here so others understand that the laws do not work in our favor."
Around her, hundreds of women recognized each other as victims of something that until now had not been protested against as a group. They shouted with all their strength: no more femicides, no more harassment, no more injustice.

"Why is this march important? To know that we are not alone. Change will not come instantly, but for the first time men are finding out that flirtatious remarks are actually harassment," said Eréndira Mejía.
Companions in the fight

After various women were sexually assaulted in public spaces and spoke out against the abuse via social networks, the messages they received were not supportive as would have been expected. Conversely, Twitter users spat comments such as:

"It's your fault for wearing a dress," "You were lucky, I would have raped you," and "Feminazi."
The violence that was unleashed led some women to begin organizing a protest on Facebook. It was a private event to which they were only inviting their friends. In a few days, reports of assault were adding up, and with them came the intention of many more women to participate in the demonstration set for April 24th, hence #24a. Sexist violence at home, school, work, and in the streets resulted in the name of the march that summarizes the demand being made:

"We want to live."
Ciudad Juarez, Xalapa, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Guadalajara, Tepic, Cancún, Mérida, Hermosillo. In total, more than 40 cities in 27 states of the country held demonstrations this past Sunday.

In the Valley of Mexico, the demonstration started in Ecatepec, Mexico State, a state in which 840 women were murdered from 2011 to 2013, which places the state as having the highest number of murders according to feminist organizations. On the steps of the city hall, over a loudspeaker, they said:

"We are tired of all the violence we suffer as women simply for having been born women."
At their feet, they placed purple crosses and photographs of those missing.

It was there that Irinea Buendía took the microphone to present her daughter's case. Her son-in-law, an investigative policeman,, always claimed that the 29 year-old had committed suicide, but she never believed him. She asked the judges and the Court of the State of Mexico to investigate, but nobody payed attention to her. For this reason, in the declaration, the women included a fundamental demand: "stop judicial favoritism toward male criminals in criminal proceedings."

Minutes later, the women left the State of Mexico in a caravan of buses, cars and bicycles. Some decided to take the protest to the metro because violence occurs there also: 6 out of 10 women have been assaulted in public transport. With drums, painted faces, and bare breasts, banners and slogans shouted, "My body is mine and mine only."

At the same time, at the Monument to the Revolution, on a long black canvas, the organization Bordamos Feminicidios [We Embroider Femicides] told stories of women's murders on pieces of cloth:

"I am Margarita Aldama Hernández from Jalisco. I was 33 years old. My neighbor Ramón killed me. He tried to rape me. My neighbors defended me, and he killed them too. I don't want flowers. I want justice."
Minerva, one of the organization's members, explained that only 80 of the embroideries were displayed yesterday, although they have already woven more than 400 cases that remain without justice.

"Each of these embroideries is a femicide. And since 2011, we have not stopped embroidering," she lamented.
The whole group gathered around the Monument to the Revolution to leave together towards the Angel of Independence. There was batucada, cheering, banners, and messages written on bodies and faces:

"I don't want your flirting, I want your respect," "Whether I'm wearing a skirt or pants, respect me, bastard," "No, I don't want to be murdered by the man who says he loves me."
For the first time, the women's steps were united and they felt supported in protesting that they are not sexual objects and that their bodies belong to no one but themselves.

Since the beginning of the demonstration, organizers announced loudly that men had to stay behind the group. Only women could be in the vanguard. If a man tried to make his way into the front or photojournalists approached, they shouted:

"get out men, get out men!" "You feel discriminated against right now, but we feel that way all the time, so now you can see how we feel," explained a young woman.
Upon arriving at the Angel of Independence after six hours of protesting, there was no bandstand or sound devices like in union or partisan marches. A small group read a statement through a loudspeaker that only some people could hear. But it didn't matter. Thousands of women smiled and hugged each other.

This was a first step. The first and the most difficult: to talk about violence they have suffered. Many women did so for the first time hours earlier, thanks to #MiPrimerAcoso on Twitter.

That was the preamble to the march, so that thousands of women would have the courage to remember facts of the violence that marked their childhood, adolescence, and everyday lives. So much so that the hashtag became a trend in the country through thousands of tweets.

#MiPrimerAcoso was an introduction to the pain of knowing that thousands of women have been violated and the rage caused by impunity, but also of the desire to march shoulder to shoulder with strangers who are, at the same time, companions in the struggle. Spanish originalLeslie Castillo Naviahttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-47922449635821289122016-04-28T14:22:00.002-05:002016-04-28T14:22:46.689-05:00Mexico: Peña Nieto and Society's "Bad Mood"Reforma: Sergio Sarmiento*
Translated by Rebecca Nannery

"I know that sometimes it can be said… that there isn't a good mood, that morale has fallen, that there is a bad atmosphere, a poor social mood." Enrique Peña Nieto
Guadalajara - There is indeed a negative mood in society. The people are annoyed. There is constant questioning of the authorities. The popularity of the President is at 30%, one of the lowest levels in history for a Mexican President.

Enrique Peña Nieto believes this assessment to be unfair:

"there are many reasons and many different arguments to say that Mexico is moving forward, that Mexico is growing in different areas…"
However the national spirits is a reality that can affect business and family decisions.

The President attributes this bad mood to

"some news stories, columns and commentaries that have been picked up here and there," as he said at the Tourism Fair in Guadalajara.
The columnists and commentators, however, have never had the power to affect the social mood in this way and there is no reason to suppose that they are now able to do so.

As a matter of fact, today more than ever the government should have the opportunity to generate a positive attitude amongst the citizens. The radio and broadcast television have been forced to set aside three minutes per hour, four during campaign times, in order to celebrate the good work of politicians. The same stations, in order to stay on the good side with those in power, offer daily positive news stories about the President and the governors. The issue is that these news stories, just like the political propaganda in the radio and TV ads, have become mere background noise. Nobody pays attention to them. On the contrary, they generate more scepticism and nurture the low mood even more. The social networks, on the other hand, have become a constant source of critiques that cause the positive coverage in the media to be ineffective.

The Ayotzinapa movement has had an impact on the attitude of society. They must have handled things very badly when some of the decisions taken by the local mayor of the Party of the Democratic Revolution ended up affecting the President's image [José Luis Abarca, former mayor of Iguala arrested for police attack on Ayotzinapa students, is a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution]. Now the UN, the New York Times, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Washington accuse the federal government of cover ups or even complicity.

It seems, however that the President's loss in popularity could be blamed on the "White House" [house of President's wife, built and financed by the Higa Group, major government contractor]. Experience tells us that the impression of personal dishonesty affects a Mexican President even more than any other factor. Maybe the President has not committed any acts of corruption but the simple conflict of interests has been enough to deteriorate his public image.

The President had a lot of success at first in convincing the population that the insecurity issues from Felipe Calderón's six years in office had been left behind. Concerns of insecurity, however, have once again become dominant.

The economy is also suffering. While the country is growing, sufficiently more than many of the other Latin American countries, the annual growth of 2.5% has not been felt in peoples' pockets. This lack of personal economic satisfaction is always one of the main factors of dissatisfaction in a community.

Peña Nieto is not the only head of government with popularity issues. Elsewhere there is a continually more hostile attitude towards leaders. It is because of this that Donald Trump has become a political option in the United States and that political parties cannot form governments in Spain, and that Dilma Rousseff is about to be overthrown in Brazil.

In Mexico, the rejection of the President and the political system has allowed Andrés Manuel López Obrador to once again become a runner in the presidential race [head of leftist party Morena and twice previously a presidential candidate]. The negative social mood could be discarded as a simple malaise arising from the sour moods of columnists and commentators. However, the political consequences could be very serious.

Reforma only allows subscribers to access its articles online.

*Sergio Sarmiento is a regular columnist for Reforma.Rebecca firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-46327429834233296282016-04-27T21:35:00.002-05:002016-04-27T21:35:49.845-05:00State of Mexico Attorney General's Office Example of Putting Statistics Above JusticeLa Jornada: Editorial
Translated by Rachel Alexander

On Monday, a video was distributed on social media in which the litigation director of the Attorney General's Office for the State of Mexico, Fernando Ulises Cárdenas Uribe, demanded high percentages of convictions from prosecutors of his agency in cases brought before judges. He told them it's unacceptable to achieve less than an 80 percent conviction rate for the accused. He also said they should not use the excuse that the offenses may be invented, because "that's life", and nevertheless, the effectiveness of prosecutors is in a stunning collapse.

The official's words imply a clear normalization of the fabrication of guilt, which is to say, the conviction of innocent people. They give an idea of unacceptable distortions affecting law enforcement institutions in the country. Cárdenas Uribe's scolding of his subordinates makes it clear that the attorney general's priority is to fill sentencing quotas, not to prosecute crime or seek clarification of the facts of crimes.

Unfortunately, the instructions of the litigation director for the Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico don't appear to be an exception, but a national tendency. Cases of people unjustly charged, prosecuted and convicted proliferate in the news and in public complaints, and have, more than a few times with the disfunctionality of the country's institutions, become international incidents.

But even when a person who's unjustly imprisoned may ultimately achieve his freedom, personal, family, social and job prejudice are usually irreparable.

What's more, the harm done to the credibility of prosecutors and the judicial system by the prosecution of innocent people is incalculable. As a result of the normalization of practices like those Cárdenas Uribe refers to in the video, the lack of confidence in judicial institutions has become overwhelming and ends up being extended to all public agencies. The establishment of sentencing quotas that must be fulfilled to the letter can make for better-looking statistics, but it represents not only an unacceptable distortion of justice, but also ends up turning back on itself and plunging these offices into an even greater disrepute which guarantees inefficiency.

The light shed by the leak of this video makes it imperative that the State of Mexico's government undertake a reorganization of the attorney general's office to separate it from this perverse logic, and to conduct a thorough, case-by-case review of the legal situation of each convicted person, because the evidence in this recording is ample reason to fear there are innocents in prison. Spanish originalRachelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-39153969356222861242016-04-27T11:30:00.000-05:002016-04-27T12:01:03.609-05:00Is Mexico's Civil Society Ready to Work Together for Change? Reforma: Sergio Aguayo*
Translated by Angela Quick

In 2016, Mexico meets the requirements for major transformations: a weakened regime, new actors and an international landscape which embraces change. I will focus on the first two.

Governments and parties have either not known how, been unwilling or unable to deal with the major problems of the nation. They conceal their bewilderment with silence and cynicism, although amongst them there are those who understand the seriousness of the situation and are open to interact with a society which, in turn, begins, once again, to find the channels and the leadership capable of interpreting and channeling social dissent.

Corruption, violence and impunity survive because they form a well entwined structure. It is an odious, almost impenetrable trinity. The majority of us reject it, but dissent has lacked the strength needed to fragment it. This is starting to change. The citizen's initiative for the 3of3 Law [which would require candidates for, and holders of public office to make public their tax returns and statements of assets and investments]against corruption has garnered support and dialogues which are rare in the Senate. The same is happening regarding the issue of insecurity.

This past Sunday, marches took place in 27 cities in order to protest violence against women. It is true that the turnout was not massive, but the feminist movement going out into the streets is significant for its extensive experience in organization, protest and making proposals. This comeback has enormous potential because the struggle for women's rights has well established leadership and civic agencies across the country.

One day after the marches, a meeting of academics at The University of the Cloister of Sor Juana began. For three days they discussed the role of the university in the face of one of the "most serious crises in terms of human rights" in national history. The initiative, which came from the law school of the Ibero-American University, emerged at the right time as universities and research centers throughout Mexico are realizing that they have an obligation and that they are among the few institutions that are respected by the majority.

If the emergence of the universities takes hold, a rare phenomenon of citizen participation could be triggered. Their material foundation and their budgets allow them to carry out medium and long term work which, incidentally, has already been reflected in public policy proposals. Both the legal basis for the 3of3 Law and the case that led to the easing in official policy of marijuana [proposed legislation to legalize the consumption of marijuana and its production and sale via a government-run system] were conceived in a university environment. Universities can also become a bridge between State institutions and society by capitalizing on their legitimacy in the community and their ability to engage in dialogue with politicians and officials.

The academic meeting in the Cloister of Sor Juana could become a watershed if it overcomes various obstacles. The first is to agree on permanent coordination between institutions. The second is to draw up an agenda of minimal proposals that allow rapprochements with the various aspects of organized civil society. If feminists, activists, academics and people of faith come together, then the impact can be huge, especially if you also consider mechanisms for incorporating the hundreds of thousands, even the millions of people willing to do "something" to tackle the major problems of the nation.

Last but not least is the thorny issue of centralism [political, economic and cultural dominance by Mexico City]. Both the largest contingent of the feminist march and the academic meeting took place in the capital. It is only natural that this is where they took place, as Mexico City has the highest density of positive social structures in the country and because the initiatives of the transition which the country is undergoing were born in the capital. In order to achieve a national organization of academics, the centralist tendency to dominate processes must be overcome and institutions around the country must be approached as equals.

One of the great enigmas of social sciences is detecting when a breeze of change becomes a hurricane. Even if it is difficult and risky to make predictions, I maintain that the stage is now set for a period of mobilization capable of forcing the change that the parties and governments have been unable to lead and implement. Social institutions can become key actors of change. Welcome, once again, Mrs. Civil Society. You have been greatly missed.

Contributions by Maura Álvarez Roldán.

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*Sergio Aguayo is a professor of Political Science at The College of Mexico and a leading political analyst and commentator in Mexico. He is president of Propuesta Cívica and a participant in the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity. Dr. Aguayo obtained his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. His thesis was on the history of Mexican-U.S. government relations in the twentieth century, published as Myths and MisPerceptions: Changing U.S. Elite Visions of Mexico. His latest book is Remolino: El México de la Sociedad Organizada, los Poderes Fácticos y Enrique Peña Nieto [The Mexican Enigma: The Mexico of Organized Society, De Facto Powers and Enrique Peña Nieto]. @sergioaguayo
email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089285239690517306.post-69445065909995950302016-04-27T10:39:00.000-05:002016-04-29T09:14:13.734-05:00Mexico-Ayotzinapa: The Night in Iguala and the Mexican Government's ResponseLa Jornada: Luis Hernández Navarro*

Translated by Amanda Coe

Careful in form, the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE)'s report [on the disappearance of the 43 Ayotizinapa students] is devastating in its content. Not only does it question the lousy judicial work of the officials responsible for investigating what happened that night in Iguala, but it also raises doubt about the credibility of the Mexican State.

The experts' report dissects and irrefutably proves the lies that the Mexican government used to create its "historical truth". Foregoing adjectives, it uncovers and questions the official story from beginning to end. It documents how those responsible for investigating the truth and justice planted evidence, gathered confessions through torture and mistreatment, carried out self-serving leaks, criminalized victims, and hid evidence.

Rather than clarifying the facts and getting to the truth of what happened the nights of September 26 and 27, 2014, the Attorney General's Office (PGR) has worked to hide it. Not only has it done so because of the complexity of the case and its professional shortcomings, but also because of its deliberate decision to do so. The investigation was conducted poorly not only for technical failures, but also for the deliberate decision to carry it out poorly.

Instead of finding and punishing the real culprits, Mexican authorities have chosen to make them up. By torturing some culprits into confessing what they want them to confess, they have opened the door for their release. Determined to present the facts as resulting from action exclusive to organized crime and a group of corrupt policemen, they have ended up protecting politicians and those higher up on the chain of command. Instead of finding the masterminds, they have covered them up.

The report shows how the night in Iguala was not just an all-out blood shed by the irrationality of a group of lunatic drug dealers and thugs, rather it was the result of the institutional fabric of a mafia State that saw the actions of the normal school students as a threat to their business. Not only were institutions ineffective and inept, but they were also colluded with organized crime. Not only is it a product of the State forsaking its most basic responsibility to ensure public security, but also from the State's work deteriorating as a result of the heroin route.

Municipal and State police from Guerrero, the city of Iguala, the federal government and the Army had control, as well as ongoing, direct monitoring—through C4 [Center for Communiction, Coordination, Command and Control between the Army and Federal, State and Municipal Police]—of the Ayotzinapa students, from the very moment they left school. According to the IGIE, in Iguala "there was already perfect coordination between the authorities to create a control circle that would prevent the departure of the buses" taken by the students.

In its final report, the experts insist that the victims are victims, however much the State has claimed to stigmatize them. Contrary to what the PGR said, Ayotzinapa students were not going to Iguala to boycott any act of the mayor's wife [she was giving a speech and holding a party that evening as head of the municipality's Program for Comprehensive Family Development, DIF]. They were not a part of organized crime nor were infiltrated by it.

Among many questions that remain unanswered about the night in Iguala, reading the experts' report leaves one certainty: the students disappeared at the hands of State forces.

Cautiously, the experts avoided naming specific officials involved in anomalies of the process in their report. The exception was Tomás Zerón Lucio, Head of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the PGR. The IGIE indicated that Zerón led an evidence gathering of skeletal remains that was not included in the record; a very serious fact. He also said, days after the experts' first report last September, 17 young people (and not the 43 that they had originally said) had been incinerated in the Cocula dump. The criminal investigator's statement, clearly a measure to reposition the "historical truth", had no support in the record.

Since last September when the IGIE presented the first findings of its investigation, the government has decided not to stop delaying, obstructing and blocking the experts' work. On Sunday, three empty seats in the University of the Cloister of Sor Juana, during the presentation of the experts' report, proved their bitterness. The seats were reserved for Undersecretaries Roberto Campa [of the Secretariat of Government Relations], Miguel Ruiz [of the Secretariat of Foreign Relations] and Deputy Attorney General Eber Betanzos, representatives of the Enrique Peña Nieto administration. They did not make the meeting.

On Saturday afternoon, government officials had snubbed a key meeting with members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), including its president, James Cavallaro, to arrrange follow up for the recommendations from the IGIE.

Within and outside of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto's government has paid extensively to refuse clarifying what happened the night of Iguala. His international reputation has hit rock bottom. Wherever the Mexican president goes outside the country, he is questioned about the serious human rights violation that exists in the country and what happened to the Ayotzinapa students. Why has the government been willing to pay such a high price? Is it better to pay that because the cost of the alternative, the Mexican State knowing the truth, could be much higher? Spanish Original

*Luis Hernández Navarro, Mexican journalist, is coordinator of the Opinion section of La Jornada. In the mid-1970's he was a union organizer. He was a founder of the dissident National Coordinating Committee of Education Workers (CNTE) and an adviser to peasant organizations. He participated in the San Andrés Dialogues between the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and was Technical Secretary to the Commission for Follow-up and Verification for the Chiapas Peace Accords. Twitter: @lhan55
Amanda Coehttp://email@example.com