Mexicans Reject U.S.-Backed Drug War

from YES! Magazine:



Mexicans Reject U.S.-Backed Drug War
Led by a popular poet, tens of thousands of protesters fill the streets of Mexico to speak out against the war on drugs.

by Laura Carlsen
posted May 19, 2011


Tens of thousands of Mexicans made history on May 8 in a march through the nation’s capital, protesting the war on drugs. Behind a black banner reading “We are fed up. Stop the War. Peace With Justice and Dignity,” they demanded an immediate halt to the drug war, reforms to Mexico’s political and justice systems, and a change in US regional security policy.

Protesters filed through the streets of Mexico City in silence, holding hand-lettered signs that expressed their anger at the war that has claimed nearly 40,000 lives since it was declared by President Felipe Calderón in December 2006. Many wore T-shirts featuring the national slogan of the new movement: "No More Blood."

The strategy to deploy the army and police to attack drug lords and intercept illegal shipments has led to the militarization of the country and triggered bloody turf wars between cartels. Public opposition to the US-supported war has been growing since the assassination of fifteen teenagers in Ciudad Juárez on January 30, 2010. Since then, the bodies have been piling up in nameless statistics, reaching a record 15,273 in 2010, according to government figures.

But it took a high-profile tragedy to draw tens of thousands into the streets. On March 28 the son of well-known poet Javier Sicilia was brutally murdered along with six friends near the city of Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/mexicans-reject-us-backed-drug-war

The corruptive, dysfunctional, draconian "War on Drugs" can only damage society and the longer it's waged; the more devastating the consequences.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.