Of this weeks documents the final two were those which had the most impact on me. Documents 10.7 and 10.8 provoke very visceral reactions in me. I find they provoke this reaction because of the power behind their words. Both documents are a cry out towards terrible forces arrayed against them. These are the voices of the people of Mexico. The average citizen, worker, father, everyday people who live in fear every day. The strangest part to me is the line "this is not a surrender" yet the author asks "what do you want us to do?" While this may seem a contradictory statement, asking what the criminals want and at the same time stating they are not surrendering to the power of said criminals. I do not believe in truth that it is a surrender. This is a letter written in fear and in anger. Anger towards those who have taken so many lives and those who have failed to defend those lives. El Diario has no other recourse other than to simply shut down. To shut down would be to admit defeat and to truly surrender. The author instead asks what can be done to allow them to keep publishing. They accept the fact (not happily) that their city is ruled in essence by criminals and so they call upon this new authority to state clearly the rules that they must abide to. Not out of respect or acceptance of this new authority but out of simple survival.
The second document is a somewhat different cry. It is a cry for opposition to both the criminals and government, both which have failed the author. The author calls upon the people of Mexico to stand up peacefully in the face of said violence and demand an end, a return to honor. He claims the criminals and government have lost their honor. Can a criminal truly have honor? These two authors show incredible bravery in the face of great intimidation by both criminal forces and that of their own government. They stand up in defiance and cry out at those which have failed them and their society. How does a government fail in its duties so greatly to create such an environment?
I dont know if this will necessarily answer your question but I think a big influence on the government unable to provide the needs to its citizens and thus create such a dangerous environmet comes from the greed for power. Even today we can see this in te government who accept international mining companies in rural areas without thinking of the local effects it can have on the community.
ReplyDeleteSeems cynical that everything in world is still and probably will be for a while determined by the power of money and corruption. The common people cry out for help, even if they are heard, do things change in 50 year run?
ReplyDeleteI also had the same thought reading the last document when the author says that the criminals have lost their honor. I don't necessarily think a criminal can truly have any real honor in what their doing, but I do believe that back in the day there was more of a code of conduct among the narcos. Children were definitely off limits, and they wouldn't mess with honest hard working people. Nowadays there's deadly kidnappings, beheadings, femicides, mass graves, and killings of innocent people. There's no doubt that the brutality of these narcos has only gotten worse, they use this excessive violence not just to eliminate their enemies but also to send a message of fear to the communities they seek to control...I think this is what the author was talking about in the cartels losing their honor. Whereas historically narcos were known to sort of be robin hood figures for their towns, now there is so much bloodshed and terror involved it has completely changed the culture and created such a poisonous environment for everyone, even if not directly involved.
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