It was on October 2, 1968, when the catastrophic “Tlatelolco Massacre” took place in Mexico City, in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, causing the sad and unnecessary death of more than 300 people. This brutal action is full of crimes against human beings, perpetrated by the Mexican government against the students due to the strikes and protests that they carried out against the government thanks to the long discontent that this had caused them.
This fact has caused an uproar among those affected and their families, demanding a trial for genocide, although the government should be responsible for our protection, it was the armed forces and the paramilitary group Battalion Olimpia, sent by the government who participated in a peaceful demonstration. It is outrageous how the president in charge, Gustavo Diaz Ordaz planned such a horrible assassination of his people just to cover up the problems the country was dealing with and not cause a stir among the visitors to the Olympics. Many students, college professors, school teachers, children, senior citizens, and young people were affected by the government’s decision, empty decisions to exalt itself and pretend to be a just, peaceful, and ideal country.
Besides, “El Halconazo”, a strike carried out by students from the most important universities in Mexico in support of the University of Nuevo Leon, was heading towards the capital’s Zocalo, once again to express their dissatisfaction with the government and its decisions. It was when they were advancing on the Avenida de Los maestros, that the “chalcones”, a paramilitary group of recruited youths opened fire on the students, an action that sadly was no surprise had it been organized by the government. The saddest part of these actions that attempted against the lives of the students and first of all human beings, is that the government had ordered the hospitals not to attend the wounded marchers since the objective was never to dissolve the demonstration, but to get rid of those who dared to rebel against the government.
As a student, it is worrisome to think that my complaints or rights cannot be addressed peacefully because the government takes it as a lack of respect or an attack on them. Knowing in the past that students from such well-known schools were brutally murdered saddens me and makes me think that it is the state itself that puts the needs of its leaders before those of the future of the country.
Unfortunately, we are in the hands of people who are not qualified for the position they hold, sadly it was we who gave them the power and trust to lead us to what could be a better future. It is our duty as young people to defend ourselves against these violent actions that have turned us into such a bloodthirsty country.
To cry every time we open a newspaper or a social network and see the list of all the young people missing, dead, or injured by different criminals and social situations should open our eyes and provoke an alliance in the people to recover what is ours. To seek the common good and turn Mexico into the rich, beautiful, and colorful country it once was may be scary, but, just as it was for our ancestors, it is our duty not to repeat the same mistakes and to seek and fight for a better Mexico.
TYT Newsroom