Mérida Initiative, State Terrorism
Luis Villanueva is a teacher. He graduated from the rural teacher college system, México Translation from Osvaldo Anzaldo State terrorism in México with the financial support of American contributors. Disappearance of civil rights, repression of peaceful protest, arbitrary imprisonment, hundreds of political prisoners, hundreds of thousands dead, including children, woman, elders. These are the consequences of this treaty between the governments of México and the United States. The Mérida Initiative is an instrument that the government of México uses to intimidate the population and repress social protest. But beyond those two specific objectives, there’s one that is more far-reaching: to implement neoliberal practices in all economic, political, and social spheres. And even though the governments of México and the United States try to convince us that this plan is a project that will benefit both societies, facts belie that. It is a project that in each and every one of its objectives, does exactly the opposite of what it claims in writing. Supposedly created to fight mainly narco-trafficking, this plan consists of four objectives: 1. Affect the operational ability of organized crime 2. Institutionalize the ability to maintain the rule of law 3. Create a border structure for the twenty-first century 4. Build strong and resistant communities The Mérida initiative was put in place by the governments of Felipe Calderón and George Bush, and even thought its failure is clear, it continues under the current government of México. The following analyzes the reality regarding each of the four points listed above. 1. Affect the operational ability of organized crime. Inside the dynamics of a narco-state, changes in leadership of the criminal organizations are the norm, not the exception. A constant conflict to gain power or replace a fallen leader exists; there is a void needing to be filled. When one narco-trafficking leadership is destroyed but the real causes of the problem are not attacked, it only creates a readjustment of power, and new bosses or even new organizations arise. In the last few years we have seen the fall of bosses of narco-trafficking but the production and smuggling of drugs into the United States remains the same. There is no change. Even worse, we are informed of the arrests or deaths of the drug traffickers but nothing is known regarding the seizure of confiscated properties. And if the seizure of goods doesn’t exist, an action that would really weaken the cartels, it is because there isn’t a legal mechanism or because the authorities are also involved in the crimes. One of the clauses of the so-called Mérida Initiative includes the training of police and elements of the Mexican armed forces in military institutions of the United States. This measure contributes to the increasing violence and improves the ability of criminal organizations because sooner or later, individuals and entire units turn to supporting criminal gangs. A well documented fact: Desertion of more than 500 individuals from elite military groups has been reported. And deserters of these units now make up one of the bloodiest criminal cartels. The taxpayers of the United States, with their contributions, pay for the training of individuals who, once back in México, rape women, kill innocent people (including children and elders) and kidnap youths. In the meantime, the flow of drugs into the United States remains the same, to the satisfaction of its consumers, demonstrating the futility of the plan, whose main purpose was to stop the drugs from crossing the border to the United States. 2. Institutionalize the ability to maintain the rule of law. The rule of law only exists where there’s democracy. The massacres, the daily violations of civil rights, the forced disappearance of citizens by the authorities of the government, the inability in some cases, or the refusal in others, to respond to the demands of the citizens, are the reality of the Mérida Initiative; therefore, it has only contributed to the weakening of the rule of law. When there is rule of law, these laws must exist above all arbitrary discretion of individuals. Where are the laws that punish the cases of corruption that involve the government, from the president to the members of all political parties? The amount of corruption is so extensive and deeply rooted that the government is unable to end it, mainly because the line that separates the government from criminal organizations no longer exists, or is very difficult to identify. It could be said that corruption has been legalized. It continues because impunity is rampant. The rule of law has been so violated and weakened that normal life has been seriously impacted. 3. Create the border structure of the twenty-first century. If, by border structure, they mean to have the governments of México, Central America and USA controlled by the migratory policies of the USA, they have fulfilled their objective. The sisters and brothers who come from Central America face violations of their most basic rights, from the Mexican government as well from the criminal gangs that generally work in sync. This plan is the very opposite of the traditional hospitality and solidarity of the Mexican people. The services of Mexican immigration add one more embarrassment to the list: subservience to the government of the USA. Basically, Mexican immigration officials are now the implementing arm of the migratory politics of USA in México, not at the northern border but at the border with Guatemala. For months, México has deported more Central Americans than the American government. This level of deterioration of national sovereignty started with the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in the 80s. Its clearest function was to eliminate restraints on transnational monopolies and in flagrant violation of the sovereignty of México. 4. Build strong and resistant communities. This objective has only left a trail of destruction and abandonment. In Guerrero and Sinaloa, two of the states that should reflect most of the Mérida Initiative's effectiveness, there exists the greatest displacement of entire communities because of narco-trafficking. In 2014, in Sinaloa there were 40 displaced communities, and in Guerrero it was reported that in 5 counties, people from 25 towns were forced to abandon their homes. It is well known that in areas where legal as well as illegal businesses exist, the narco state, has been merciless with respect to the civilian population. The region where the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa is located is a perfect example. Here we find some of the most productive silver and gold mines in México. It is also known for the highest poppy and opium gum production in the country. When the families of the 43 disappeared students started looking for the boys on their own, they found vast numbers of clandestine graves in the surroundings around Iguala and other counties. Does this demonstrate the “strong and resistant communities” that the Mérida Initiative speaks of? And the crimes happen despite the fact that the area is surrounded by military bases…more bases than any other region of the country. The evidence indicated in the previous four points clearly shows that the Mérida Initiative does not have as its objective the fight against narco-trafficking. The obvious question: In reality, why was this project implemented? Although not easy to explain, we offer the following: The rise of the Zapatista Army For National Liberation and its fight to create a “world from the left and from the bottom,” hindered the great project of world capitalism that consists of eliminating the sovereignty of nations and placing them under transnational authorities. This way, power over all natural resources can be achieved by exploiting the human resources of the same nations. México became part of this submissive model with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992. It became effective the same year and the same month as the rise of the Zapatista movement, January 1994. The government of USA and the Mexican oligarchy had been watching with concern as Zapatismo offered a glimmer of hope to the Mexican people. The political forces of the left saw an encouraging infusion of energy. The people, on their own, suddenly found themselves with an alternative created by the Zapatistas…an alternative which could finally carry out the goals of the Mexican Revolution. There had to be a stop to this enthusiasm and therefore the war on drugs was invented, a model that had shown results in the USA during the 70s and was created to contain the social discontent after the Vietnam War. The government of the USA, with the complicity of its Mexican counterpart, created this plan. And to establish control over the people, just as in USA after the attack of the twin towers, the military industrial complex stepped in. There had to be a weapons aspect to the project because, as the Mexican and American governments intended, this was a "war." With this excuse, the militarization of the country is launched. To demonstrate the growth of military power in México we point out various facts that have been overlooked. First, in a just a few years, México went from 25th to 5th place in importation of weapons worldwide, this happening in times of "peace." Second, during the investigations of the 43 missing, it was known from the beginning that the members of the 27th infantry batallion were involved in this crime against humanity. Despite national as well as international pressure to reveal the participation of the military, it didn't happen. And it was the Secretary of National Defense, not the President of the Republic, who denied an interview with the soldiers during the investigation of the kidnapping of aspiring rural teachers. The clearest evidence of the power given to the military is that they continue to fulfill police functions in city streets and in the countryside, even though the method's inefficiency has been proven. The violations of civil rights fulfill the function of intimidating the people and their leaders. But when instilling fear is not enough, citizens are summarily executed. These deaths by the armed forces are the norm, as they are supposedly fighting crime. There seems to be an implicit agreement to not take prisoners, which explains the assassination of entire groups by the police and military forces. Even though commissions have investigated these crimes, nothing has been done to punish the guilty; total impunity exists. Social discontent is increasing, but citizens are unable to demonstrate as they were previously able to. The government is intensifying its attacks against society at the same time that it is trying to maintain the appearance of a modern society with freedom for its citizens. From here the “war against narco-trafficking" has arisen. To this reality, the Mérida Initiative is added, which was created to contain social discontent and silence the people, so as to then plunder the country as never before. The Mérida Initiative was an agreement to take state terrorism to its highest level and then accomplish the following objectives: 1. Create a psychological effect to distract the people. The most dominant phenomenon of the Mérida Initiative is its contribution to the reinforcement of the "shock doctrine," as Naomi Klein explains in her book titled The Shock Doctrine. The massive importation of weapons and the intimidation and destruction caused by the presence of the armed forces fulfilling police functions is the best evidence that the objective of the government is to hold the population in a state of terror. The climate of insecurity is clearly obvious in states such as Guerrero, Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla, to name a few. No area of the country has completely escaped and we find the same phenomenon of terror and distress everywhere. And this state of alarm increases exponentially with the absence of justice. Understanding the state of violence and death created by the Mérida Initiative requires understanding that weapons play a major role in this project. In just one year, the government of Peña Nieto bought from the Department of Defense of the United States military equipment worth $1.3 billion, a purchase that can only be justified if Mexico is living in a state of war. As seen from a different perspective, Mexico is indeed at war, but the enemy of the Mexican government is not an invading army but rather it's own citizens. 2. Utilize the political process to legalize turning over the country. At the beginning of the current six-year presidential term, the Mexico Plan was created. This is an arrangement by political parties to turn over the country's resources to major corporations, both national and international. Laws were enacted to legalize this handing over of the property belonging to the Mexican people. Among these, energy reform and educational reform stand out. The facts are evident. The most emblematic case is Pemex. Before being turned over to the same trans nationals who had expropriated the oil 78 years ago, Pemex was the symbol of the economic independence of México. This independence has now ended. In education, we have the so-called educational reform. The real purpose of this law is to strip teachers of their labor rights. Then, in time, once the teacher’s union is destroyed, Mexico will privatize public education just as the United States has been doing for some time. The total submission by Mexico to international corporations started with the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and now complete capitulation will occur when the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is put into place. In order for the control of Mexican workers to happen, first laws are written to please corporations, then the workers must submit to these laws. In this context, we need to understand the fight by CNTE (National Committee of Educators). The government has in its sight the elimination of this labor union. CNTE hopes to repeal the educational reform law through increased pressure and support of the citizens of Mexico. The current situation is crucial. Once other citizens join the fight, once people unite, the government is put in a defensive position. In order to force the government to negotiate, pressure must increase until the main demand, the repeal of the law, is considered. It is now or never for the CNTE. In this same context of educational reform, the transformation of the normal rural schools (rural teachers' colleges) deserves special attention. The forced disappearance of 43 students of the normal rural school of Ayotzinapa, perpetrated the night of September 26th 2014, and the first hours of the 27th, must be understood within the same framework as the analysis of the CNTE resistance. The Mexican government, loyal in its role of bowing to big business, does not want teachers who might go into communities to struggle against large abusive landowners, injustices and poverty. The proposal by the Secretary of Public Education is focused on training educators who will no longer dedicate themselves to the formation of critically thinking citizens. What is wanted is rigid teaching intended to create individuals who will then fit into the neoliberal capitalist mechanism that now exists. This is the educational philosophy that is currently being imposed and which clashes with the traditionally progressive formation of the young men and women of the rural normal school system. For this reason, the murder of six and the disappearance of the other 43 student teachers, as well as the refusal to investigate this state crime, fulfills a specific function: intimidate the communities that traditionally send their children to these schools. Poor subsistence farmers are not wanted in teacher training schools. The goal is to restrict this educational model that arose from the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917, and had as its central objective compensation to poor Mexican farmers for their sacrifices during the war in the early part of the last century. 3. Destroy societal fabric and maintain control over the population. The so-called war against organized crime and in particular against drugs has become, in reality, a frontal attack against the Mexican people. The numbers are shocking: 150,000 deaths, 36,000 disappeared, hundreds incarcerated, and in general, a sense of total insecurity that can only exist in times of war or in a terrorist state. In this slow-paced genocide, the principal victims have been the youth. The immense majority of victims from the war against drugs have been young men and women in the best stages of their lives. All this has been possible because the fight has targeted the effects of problems, not the causes of the problems. Instead of a protective government that creates opportunities for its citizens, it has become a criminal state that pushes its youth towards crime and eventually death. Using the excuse of the war on drugs, the quality and quantity of military weapons has grown exorbitantly. This cannot be justified unless the country is at war. The weapons have been used exactly for what they were intended: to repress social protest and kill when it is considered necessary. The attack against the population of Nochixtlán is only the most recent example. The weapons that killed 11 people and wounded hundreds of others, the helicopters that were used to drop gases on the citizens, the military airplanes that were used to transport the personnel and military equipment…all these items had been the brand new purchases under the auspices of the Mérida Initiative. The suppression of civil rights and the killing of innocent citizens are courtesy of the American people; this is the Mérida Initiatve. 4. Plunder the country. Once the legislation to turn over the country to national and international corporations was created, the economic benefits were generated. Natural resources are being auctioned to the highest bidder. This explains the recent construction of enormous mining projects and the concessions of large extensions of land to the lumber and automobile companies. In the countryside, mangroves have been destroyed, forests are cut down indiscriminately, sacred lands are rased, communities are dislocated and their lands are being passed to large companies. Agricultural lands, thanks to NAFTA, have been passed into the powerful hands of international agribusiness. The common denominator in all of this disposition, which generally happens to indigenous communities, is the contamination of the environment and the extermination of aquifers (not just for the hydraulic fracturing that has also quietly started, mainly in the northern states). Agribusiness and mining companies improperly exploit the water reserve, given that they use large amounts of the vital liquid at the expense of the communities in the area. In summation, we have the deliverance of Pemex to the private sector, the disappearance of workers' and retirees' pensions, labor contracting without union rights, etc. The government as a protective entity for its citizens no longer exists. It has turned into a government that has one central function, one which defines the rest…to manipulate the country for the benefit of the trans-nationals and above the interests of the citizens. Political parties play an important role: they give the impression of being different and with those supposed differences the citizenship feels that they have alternatives with respect to the administration of the country, but all politicians are the same in that they really only serve big money. In the context of the imposition of neoliberal politics, we need to understand the importance of the fight of the CNTE to overturn the so-called educational reform. The reform goes beyond a simple stripping of labor rights, even though this is really what the law comes down to. The magisterial fight also consists of preventing the privatization of the education of the future citizens of the country. This struggle also encompasses something more far-reaching; it is about to stop the entire wave of neoliberalism that has entered México. This is where the sell-out government sees the danger of the CNTE. If teachers do not give in, the law will have to be repealed. The teachers of the CNTE, with the support of the people, have the unique opportunity to stop, once and for all, the Mérida Initiative. Not only would they be keeping their rights to organize; more far reaching would be the benefits to the country: the guarantee of public and free education for future generations. There is yet one more goal that the CNTE and the Mexican people together can reach: show us the way so that we may take change of our country and in the near future create the society that we have been struggling for and want so badly, “a world where many worlds fit, where all worlds fit”.
