Yesterday afternoon, thousands of protesters joined anti-violence marchers in Mexico City's main plaza, the last stop on an 80-kilometer three-day march originating in Cuernavaca begun on Thursday. Many of the demonstrators were dressed in white, and some were carrying placards naming victims of drug cartel violence. Banners and t-shirts bore messages calling for an end to the violence.
Photographer Eric Scibor-Rylski was in Mexico City, and supplied PV Pulse with the following images:
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All photographs © Eric Scibor-Rylski
Organized by poet Javier Sicilia, the demonstration was to protest the continuing war between the government and the drug cartels which has left over 35,000 people dead over the last four years. Sicilia also coordinated a massive anti-violence protest in Mexico City last month after his son, Juan Francisco, was killed in a car along with six other people in Cuernavaca. The poet's vocal opposition to the war-on-drugs policies of the Calderon government has served to unify the country's peace movement.
Sicilia began his speech by calling for the resignation of the Secretary of Public Security, Genaro Garcia Luna. "[A]ll governments and political forces of this country must realize that they are losing the representation of the nation that emanates from the people, ie citizens and which today we are gathered in the zocalo of Mexico City..." he said. Sicilia also called on criminals to stop attacking innocent victims. "We are not their enemies," he said. "We are not at war with them."
In addition, activists delivered a list of demands directed at the goverment. Described as a "national pact", they gave government officials a deadline of June 10, 2011 to sign the deal. The document included items calling for "an end to the 'strategy of war', the removal of corruption from all three levels of government in less than six months, and the quick solving of several notable high-profile cases -- including the killing of Sicilia's son."
The Minister of the Interior released an official statement in response to the protest. "The military, naval and Federal Police do not cause violence," the statement read. The federal government also reiterated its respect for the demonstrators.
Calderon's strategy regarding drug cartels has been the subject of much debate. Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Mexico and offered her support to Calderon's initiatives. Critics, however, suggest that the death toll and the impact on tourism is too high a price to pay. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, for example, has advocated for full drug legalization.
The group that marched between cities included a contingent of Central and South American immigrants led by Father Alejandro Solalinde who is known for his defense of migrants' rights. Solalinde called the May 8 demonstration the best chance Mexico has had to "remake a country that's going to the pits and put an end to violence, corruption and impunity." Representatives of the Social Movement of San Salvador Atenco led by Ignacio del Valle also joined the core group organized by Javier Sicilia.
Similar protests took place in other areas across Mexico, from the northern border state of Chihuahua, to the southern state of Chiapas, where Zapatistas marched in San Cristobel de las Casas. A group gathered to hear activists speak in the main square across from the Church of Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta.
