HIST 361: The Mexican Revolution: Birth, Life, Death

The Latin Americanist – Dec. 13, 2008

Millions of Mexicans celebrated the Day of the Virgen de Guadalupe on Friday. Yet as Mexico’s female patron saint was venerated several events brought to light the dangers faced by Mexican women.

Silvia Vargas had gone missing since September 2007 and her kidnapping symbolized the anguish felt by thousands of families throughout Mexico. “I have cried. I have begged… Find my daughter. Find my Silvia,” pleaded her father- Nelson Vargas- last month as he angrily denounced police incompetence in finding his daughter.

On Thursday, Nelson’s worse nightmares came true as prosecutors said to have found Silvia’s remains. “We ask everyone to pray for her and all those people who have suffered the same pain that we have felt” the family said in a written statement. Silvia was buried today at a funeral attended by dignitaries including Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Vargas’ death was tragic but so have the unsolved deaths of nearly 400 women in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. Despite lip service by the federal government, these deaths continue and have gone largely in impunity.
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Earlier this week, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe visited his Mexican counterpart- Felipe Calderon- and praised the country’s anti-violence policy. “One is very happy to see efforts like those of President Calderon,” said Uribe who reportedly predicted that Mexico would eventually win its battle against drug gangs.

Uribe’s remarks may have been well-intentioned though the setbacks appear to outnumber the gains. On Monday alone, for instance, seven people were killed in the border city of Ciudad Juarez including a mutilated corpse left at a police station. A pair of physically disabled officers who served on a special police unit were shot and killed in Chihuahua. The rampant violence has scared off tourists and hurt the country’s finances.

According to the National Post roughly 4000 people have been murdered over the past year; a figure that is “four times’ higher than the casualty rate in Iraq among Americans.”

Is it any wonder that Mexico’s private security industry is undergoing a boom?

Sources- The Latin Americanist, IHT, Los Angles Times, AP, Reuters, Voice of America, BBC News