Monday, May 09, 2005

Mexico's Dirty War

Students of Latin American politics regularly learn about the Dirty Wars of the Southern Cone military regimes in the 1970s. The learn that Mexico had a different type of authoritarianism, dominated by electoral fraud with an absence of military leadership. But Mexico had its own Dirty War, too, especially in the 1970s.

Following the demonstration and massacre of 1968, the early 1970s were a period of repression while the ruling party struggled to maintain their power. One of the key (para)military groups was Los Halcones. You can read about recent revelations about the group in La Jornada or El Universal. Or, there's a good novel about Los Halcones by Paco Ignacio Taibo II that I assign in my Latin American politics class. Taibo II writes mystery novels (my favorite genre), though some can get too philosophical for my tastes (I'm a plot/action kind of girl).

Anyway, I mention the repression of the 1970s because two stories in La Jornada today cover recent investigations. The first discusses the role of a public attorney in the disappearance of a communist leader in 1974. The second discusses military training to counter guerilla movements in the 1970s in the state of Guerrero (home of Acapulco). The point is that Mexico had its share of leftist movements and government repression in the 1970s.

posted by Michelle @ 9:02 AM,

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