06/13/11 – In Javier Sicilia’s most recent mass demonstration, civil organizations traveled to Ciudad Juárez on June 10 to sign a citizen’s pact to protest the violence in Mexico that has resulted from the war on drugs. AFP reported that the citizen’s pact stressed the creation of a “new human-rights based security strategy” and need for “social policies that will offer the country’s youth attractive solutions to combat the offers of the drug cartels.” Javier Sicilia, who is a poet and journalist, has become well known for leading the most recent mass protests throughout Mexico. These movements were sparked when Sicilia’s son and six other individuals were found tortured to death last March. Friends and family members of victims along with those opposed to President Calderon’s militaristic strategy to fight drug cartels joined together to create a peace caravan that traveled for a week around various Mexican states. The purpose of the caravan was to bring to the Mexican government’s attention issues such as corruption and inaction of government officials. When asked about this most recent demonstration, Sicilia stated that “we are asking the president if he believes that the price (of the fight against the traffickers) is worth so many deaths.”
The following day on June 11, the caravan crossed into El Paso, Texas and called upon the U.S. government to increase its role in combating drug trafficking. One of the caravan’s propositions consisted of having the U.S. terminate the Merida Initiative, which is the primary source of funding that the U.S. provides to Mexico and other Central American countries in order to fight drug trafficking. This aid is used to train officers and to provide them with better equipment. The protestors also called for an end of all arms sales from the U.S. to Mexico because these weapons are the cause of so much destruction.
Sources:
AFP. “Mexico peace convoy to sign national pact.” MSN News. June 11, 2011.
AFP. “Mexican peace caravan crosses U.S. border.” Yahoo News. June 11, 2011.
Torres, Alberto. “Sicilia exige en EU suspender la Iniciativa Mérida.” El Universal. June 11, 2011.
