Mexico: 43 years after the massacre: June 10 and the struggle against repression
June 10 is the forty-third anniversary of the massacre of students perpetrated by the paramilitary group called “Hawks.” On that occasion, dozens of students from different institutions, who were preparing to march in solidarity with the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (which put up a struggle in defense of its autonomy) were murdered in the vicinity of the Casco de Santo Tomás (of the National Polytechnic Institute) and in the hospitals to which they were moved. Still others were arrested and never seen again. To this day, no civil servant, politician, policeman, soldier or civilian has been imprisoned for this crime.
For years, the slogan “Neither forgiving nor forgetting” has accompanied the mobilizations that commemorated this and other dates, like October 2. These marches have appeared large, now not only from relatives and friends who continue demanding that the murder of those young people be solved, but also because of political and social organizations, because of large groups of students and young people, that, after more than 40 years, continue experiencing repression in Mexico from the PRI-ista regime, supported by the local governments of the PAN and the PRD.
Since December 1, 2012, with the Mexico City government’s obvious drift towards the right, the conditions for protesting have gotten alarmingly tough: since Article 362, the modifications to Article 29, that allow the suspension of guarantees to those arrested (both supported by Andrés Manuel López Orador), the police action protocol for crowd control and the so-called “Bullet Law,” that permits the use of firearms against demonstrators, all these are measures aimed at restraining the signs of discontent and serving as warnings for every man and woman that wants to go out to protest.
Faced with this situation, democratic organizations in defense of human rights and the rights of those imprisoned have emerged, like the December 1 Lawyers League, which, for almost two years, in a supportive, principled and independent fashion, has taken up the legal defense of those arrested and has won the release of dozens of prisoners. Arbitrary arrests, the fabrication of evidence, the tainted trials, continue being constants that the defense must confront to win the release of our male and female comrades. The statements of civil servants of the GDF, that aim at “repairing the harm” for the men and women arrested on December 1 and the series of recommendations extracted from the DF Human Rights Commission, that, although they are systematically ignored by the GDF, constitute an important precedent for the defense, are counted as a democratic victory.
Faced with the state’s advance party to take measures that strengthen and guarantee repression through legal and media mechanisms (we must not forget the very big role that the communications media have played in the criminalization of the young people), from the Anti-capitalist, Socialist and Revolutionary Youth in the Socialist Workers Movement, we believe that the struggle against repression and for the release of our prisoners must be accompanied by an incessant struggle on a national and international level, for the repeal of every law or reform that aims at criminalizing and punishing protest (like Article 362), for the immediate dissolution of the GDF riot police and of every repressive organization of the country and for the complete, immediate and unconditional release of all women and men imprisoned for political reasons.
This coming June 10, we who have lived through state repression will march, becoming part of that historic cry that is now more valid than ever: Neither forgiving nor forgetting! Punishment for the murderers! Organization and unity, in facing the bullets! For a national organization against repression! Release the political prisoners!
