Mexican Movement of 1968: Difference between revisions

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Mexican Movement of 1968
Part of the Protests of 1968
Armored cars at the『Zócalo』in Mexico City in 1968
Date	1968
Location	Mexico
Caused by	1968 Summer Olympics Economy of Mexico Generation gap
Goals	Democratic changes, civil liberties
Methods	Student strike, demonstrations, assemblies, social organization
Resulted in	Tlatelolco massacre, start of the Dirty War

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The Mexican Movement of 1968, the Mexican Student Movement or the Student Movement (in Spanish, Movimiento Estudiantil) was a social movement^[1] was a coalition of students from Mexico's leading universities that garnered widespread public support for political change in Mexico, particularly since the government had spent large amounts of public funding to build Olympic facilities for the 1968 [[Mexico City Olympic Games. Student mobilization on the campuses of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, National Polytechnic Institute, El Colegio de México, Chapingo Autonomous University, Ibero-American University, Universidad La Salle and Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla,^[2] among others created the National Strike Council. Its efforts to mobilize Mexicans for broad changes in national life was supported by sectors of Mexican civil society, including as workers, peasants, housewives, merchants, intellectuals, artists, and teachers.^[3]^[4] The movement had a list of demands for the Mexican president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Government of Mexico for specific student issues as well as broader ones, especially the reduction or elimination of authoritarianism. In the background, the movement was motivated by the global Protests of 1968^[5] and struggled for a democratic change in the country, more political and civil liberties, the reduction of inequality and the resignation of the government of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that they considered authoritarian.^[1] The political movement was suppressed by the government with the violent government attack on a peaceful demonstration on October 2, 1968, known as the Tlatelolco Massacre. There were lasting changes in Mexican political and cultural life because of the 1968 mobilization.^[6]

Twenty two years after the Government of Mexico created a Special Prosecutor for the Social and Political Movements of the Past (FEMOSSP, in Spanish) which published several conclusions in an Historical Inform to the Society^[1] after the reopening of the case and concluded that the movement marked an inflection "in the political times of Mexico", and was "independent, rebellious and close to the civil resistance" this last recognized officially as false the main argument of the Díaz Ordaz's official version that the reason behind the movement was the aim to install a Communist regime.^[1] With this argument the Mexican government justified a strategy to combat the movement and characterizing it as a foreign risk with terrorists pretensions.^[1]

Some victims of the Tlatelolco massacre tried to sue the October 2 killings on national and international courts as a crime against humanity and a genocide, affirmation that was sustained by FEMOSPP but rejected by its courts. Some political scientists, historians and intellectuals like Carlos Monsiváis^[10] agreed in pointing out that this movement and its conclusion incited a permanent and more active critical and oppositional attitude of civil society, mainly in public universities. As well provoked the radicalization of some survivor activists who opted for clandestine action and formed urban and rural guerrillas, which were repressed in the so-called Dirty War on the 1970s.

Origins

For several years prior to the protests, Mexico had experienced a period of strong economic performance called the Mexican miracle, which Antonio Ortiz Mena, the Finance Minister, called "the stabilizing development" (El Desarrollo Establizador). The currency was stable, the buying power of wages increased by 6.4%, and the government had a low external debt, which allowed the government to preserve fiscal responsibility. However, there was worker unrest before 1968, including the oil workers strike under President Miguel Alemán, put down by the army and a railway workers' strike under President Adolfo López Mateos, put down by the army under the direction of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, then Minister of the Interior. Most strikes and political opposition had been from workers and peasants, but when Mexican medical doctors went on strike in 1965, the government was faced with middle-class professionals making demands of the government for better working conditions. Díaz Ordaz, now president of Mexico, refused to negotiate with the striking doctors, who caved under pressure. Subsequently many of those participating in the strike were arrested or fired. The strike demonstrated that Díaz Ordaz would tolerate no challenge to his authoritarian presidency.^[11]

Student activism in Mexico was traditionally largely confined to issues dealing with their circumstances while studying at university. In 1966, Díaz Ordaz intervened in a low-level protest in Morelia at the University of Michoacan over an increase in busfare. The federal government saw in the protest Communists and "professional agitators involved with foreigners," and a student was shot dead. Demonstrators saw his death as "a victim of the government." Demonstrations increased, with demands for the removal of the governor of the state of Guerrero. Díaz Ordaz refused to negotiate and placed his Minister of the Interior Luis Echeverría in charge of the government occupying the campus. Although there was no evidence of outside agitators or violence on the part of students, the government ordered student residences searched and students evicted. Some students were arrested. A similar scenario occurred at the University of Sonora. In the traditional presidential speech to the legislature on September 1, 1966 just before the occupation of the Morelia campus, Díaz Ordaz made a threat against universities and students. "Neither claims of social and intellectual rank, nor economic position, nor age, nor profession nor occupation grant anyone immunity. I must repeat: No one has rights against Mexico!"^[12]

In the 1960s, the Mexican government wanted to showcase its economic progress to the world by hosting the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Economic growth had not been spread evenly, and students saw an opportunity to bring reforms and more democracy to Mexico.^[13]^[14] Arising from reaction to the government's violent repression of fights between rival groups of preparatory students, the student movement in Mexico City quickly grew to include large segments of the student body who were dissatisfied with the regime of the PRI.^[15]

The 1968 Olympic Games took place in Mexico, making it the first developing country to host this event. The government saw it as an important way to raise Mexico's profile internationally because of the tourist attendees and international television coverage of the event, which could attract international investors. Large amounts of public funding were expended to build Olympic facilities at a time when there were other priorities for the country. Over the summer of 1968, opposition to the Olympics grew and there were major demonstrations against them. Students did not believe that the appearance of Mexico to the world was a priority. They wanted a revolution resulting in the reform of the country.『No queremos Olimpiadas, queremos revolución』(We do not want Olympic Games, we want a revolution).^[16] The IOC threatened to move the Games to Los Angeles if the situation deteriorated.^[17]^[16] The government of Díaz Ordaz wanted the Games to go forward no matter how much repression was required. Demonstrations ended on October 2, 1968 at the Plaza de Tres Culturas, with the government opening fire on unarmed civilians, killing many in what is known as the Tlatelolco Massacre.^[18]^[13]

Protests

Protests took place throughout 1968, and were often violently stopped by police.^[13]

Silence March

The Silence March was a silent demonstration that took place on September 13, meant to prove that the movement was not a series of riots but had discipline and self-control.^[19]

Tlatelolco massacre

The movement was permanently repressed by the government and finally tried to annihilate on the Tlatelolco massacreonOctober 2, 1968. The massacre was planned and executed under the code name Operation Galeana, by the paramilitary group called Olimpia Battalion, the Federal Security Direction (DFS), then the so-called Secret Police and the Mexican Army simulating a shooting in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas after the conclusion of a concentration of the CNH. One year after, in 1969, president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz –also a CIA's informer assumed the responsibility of the massacre. On October 2, 1968, at 5 PM in the Plaza de las Tres CulturasinTlatelolco, a neighborhood of Mexico City, almost 10 thousand men, women and children stood waiting for a meeting to start. However, when the leaders of the several student organizations and movements arrived, policemen and the military, sent by president Díaz Ordaz and commanded by Luis Echeverria, decided to dissolve the meeting. A student claims that at about 6:10 a helicopter dropped three flares over the plaza, quickly followed by the first gunshots. Students were kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the government.^[20]^[21]

Aftermath

This social movement brought unavoidable consequences which permanently changed the future of Mexico,^[17] but these political and social changes were not immediate, the repression continued with the Corpus Christi massacre in 1971.

The major change caused by this movement came at a political level. The citizens had the opportunity to live a new democracy in which their opinion could actually bring change in society. People no longer trusted completely in the government and would no longer live completely under the conscious control of their government, nor tolerate it anymore,^[20] although they were not completely free. Octavio Paz resigned from his post as Mexican ambassador to India as an act of protest against the government's harsh repression of the student movements. However, there were also some older intellectuals who were in favor of the government, like Agustín Yañez.^[16]

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