Coatlallope
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Fear of kidnapping grips Mexico
Los Angeles Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kidnap1-...
| Quote: | For all the concern over kidnapping, it is unclear how often it occurs. According to official statistics, about 65 people are kidnapped each month, or
about two a day. That figure is up 9.1% from last year.
But the actual kidnapping tally is probably far higher: Many families avoid going to the police because they don't trust them. A crime
institute said recently that there were probably more than 500 kidnappings a month. |
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dao45
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On the channel 12 today they showed a demonstratiom in Mexico city 150000 people protesting the governments lack of ability to deal with all of the
kidnapping.
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Baja-Brit
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Location: London, England & La Paz
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Mass anti-crime rallies in Mexico
Hundreds of thousands of people have marched throughout Mexico to protest against a continuing wave of killings and kidnappings in the country.
Video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7590366.stm
The rallies were held in all of Mexico's 32 states, with more than 150,000 people gathering at Zocalo square in the capital, Mexico City.
They were mainly dressed in white, and marched in silence, holding candles.
At least 2,700 people have been killed and 300 kidnapped so far this year, mostly in drugs-related violence.
Earlier this week, a dozen headless bodies were found in the Yucatan Peninsula.
The marches also come a week after President Felipe Calderon announced new measures to deal with the violence.
'No more impunity'
Dressed in white, tens of thousands of Mexicans walked in silence along the capital's main boulevard, holding candles and lanterns, to show that they
had had enough of the murders and kidnappings plaguing their country.
Many carried national flags - a sign that they want a unified country in the fight against crime.
Others carried banners bearing slogans such as "No more impunity" and "No more revoking sentences". Others carried pictures of their children who had
been kidnapped.
"The most frustrating thing has been the indolence of many of the authorities, their insensitivity," said the father of Monica Alejandrina Ramirez,
who was kidnapped in 2004 and has not been heard of since.
"I have often asked myself, why? Why me? Why my daughter?"
Once everyone had arrived at Zocalo square and the sun had set, they sang the national anthem, and put out their candles together.
There were similar co-ordinated scenes in dozens of towns and cities across Mexico as thousands of others staged "Iluminemos Mexico", or "Let's
Illuminate Mexico", silent marches.
The organisers hoped to emulate a similar march in 2004, when almost half a million people protested against violence, forcing the government to
target police corruption and introduce reforms.
Emergency programme
The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Mexico City says the marches are a visible sign of how anxious people continue to be about the violence, and their
frustration at the government's inability to reduce it.
- Many protesters blame the government for the high crime rate.
"The message is: Get to work or we'll hold you accountable," said Eduardo Gallo, whose 25-year-old daughter was kidnapped and murdered in 2000. "We
are angry."
Last week the country's political and security leaders drew up an emergency, 74-point plan to try to combat the wave of violence.
Measures include sacking corrupt police officers, equipping security forces with more powerful weapons, new prisons for kidnappers and strategies to
combat money-laundering and drug-trafficking.
President Calderon has already deployed more than 25,000 troops across the country to combat the powerful drug cartels.
Washington is also pumping in hundreds of millions of dollars to help.
But the cartels and kidnappers are well organised and often have the acquiescence of corrupt police officers, our correspondent says.
The organisers of this march know restoring a sense of calm and order will need wholesale changes in Mexican society, something one march on one day
cannot achieve, he adds.
Source: BBC
As you were.
[Edited on 1-9-2008 by Baja-Brit]
[Edited on 1-9-2008 by Baja-Brit]
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Baja-Brit
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Location: London, England & La Paz
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In pictures:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/americas_me...
From the BBC
As you were.
[Edited on 1-9-2008 by Baja-Brit]
[Edited on 1-9-2008 by Baja-Brit]
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fishbuck
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Well,just got back from a little Baja vacation and didn't get kidnapped. Not even once. In fact nothing bad happened. It was one of my best trips
ever.
Everyone I met was very friendly and curtious.
In fact I didn't hear any bad stories.
Oh wait! One of my fishing buddies stayed at the Old Mill and they lost his reservation. He had to pay more for his room. It was trajic.
And the margaritas at Jardines were very strong and my girl got a little too drunk after drinking 2 of them. Very dangerous. The next day she swore
she wold never drink more than one ever again.
I think it's a plot because the margies were just so darn delicious that you get tricked into drinking another. Maybe the live musuc and excellent
food are part of the plot also.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Woooosh
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A lot of newbies just waking up to the reality of Mexico these days?
As we speak- the USA is still dumping thousands of criminal Deportees into TJ. They add fuel to the fire- they have the fresh narco-gang connections
from prison, no jobs, no work papers, speaking perfect english and are ready to use what they learned in prison against us.
The Mexicans I fear in norte are the ones who failed in the USA and now see us as easy prey on their home turf. It's a real fear based on real
personal experiences. The "deportee next door" is our biggest threat because they see our American values as a weakness that makes us vulnerable.
[Edited on 9-1-2008 by Woooosh]
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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