Ya think?

(photos: El Universal Television)

Nacha Cattan, in The (Mexico City) News:

Mexico City’s human rights commissioner expressed concern Friday that some of the 23 marchers arrested in Thursday’s rally commemorating the Oct. 2, 1968, Tlatelolco massacre showed signs of having been beaten.

While condemning the few marchers who vandalized and attacked police at the end of the largely peaceful rally, Emilio Alvarez Icaza said police may have engaged in revenge attacks on those arrested.

The commission is investigating six complaints by those detained, including one whose nose was fractured, as well as allegations that plainclothes cops roughed up the prisoners. Photos released on El Universal’s Web site show some of the detained with black eyes and gashes on their bodies.

Every year, the Tlaltelolco Massacre Memorial March is, as Cattan says, “raucous affair, as thugs unaffiliated with the 1968 student movement seize on the event to act violently.” I’m not sure the people who every year smash out McDonald’s windows are “thugs” … it seems to me every year a McDonalds’ gets their windows smashed, and every year, the Sec. de Goberacion finds new “outside agitators” to blame. My favorite so far was Santiago Creel who blamed goths and skateboarders.

The “annual striking of symbolic blows against the imperalist corporate hegemony” is a traditional part of the exercise. The banks finally installed shatter-proof glass (actually, the Lopez Obrador administration forced the banks to adopt a few basic security measures common in Europe and the United States, which the bankers tried to spin as socialist impositions, but that’s another story), but not Micky D’s. They must pay a fortune for breakage insurance.

And, who were the “thugs” who infiltrated the march anyway? In 1968, military units were with the students (and, historians and witnesses agree, opened fire on the crowd), but there were no cell phone cameras, or I-pods. El Universal — and ordinary protesters — discovered Judiciales among the marchers — in civilian clothing, but all wearing Pumas football warmup jackets — and carrying weapons, among the marchers.

I made a mistake when I said Felipe Calderon made no mention of the anniversary. He did, claiming that was then, it was tragic, but we’re democratic today. His remarks were at an awards ceremony for academic achievement. One of these academic achievers — Leonardo Gómez Emilsson — responded “¡Espurio!” (a rather learned word for “bullshit!”, but then young Gómez is an award-winning academic achiever). Young Mr. Gómez was surrounded by officers from the

Would you trust free speech to this kid?

Estado Mayor (the military unit that functions like the Secret Service in the United States) and told to cool it. His compadre, fellow academic achiever Marco Jiménez Santiago, apparently disagreeing with Calderon’s statement that the country had overcome its repressive past, spoke up: saying ¡no hay libertad en este país, no hay libertad! also earned him a second award. Gómez and Jiménez were arrested and hauled before a federal judge for their temerity.

Uh-ohhh. These are good kids, from very good (i.e., establishment) families who go to good schools (i.e. expensive private ones) and have dads who will come bail you out of jail. And show up with their lawyers. Who will call the media and the civil rights organizations.

At least they weren’t beaten… or shot. Progress, not perfection?