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JULY 12, 2004
Mexico's Middle Class Takes To The Streets An estimated half-million Mexicans walked silently through downtown Mexico City on June 27 to demand better police protection and prosecution of criminals responsible for a surge of kidnappings and murders in the capital and other cities. They carried placards with photographs of slain loved ones. A middle-aged man held aloft a sign reading "My Country Has Been Kidnapped" as tears trickled down his face. When they completed their 2 1/2-mile march to the main plaza, the protesters released hundreds of black and white balloons and sang the national anthem. Then the thunderous bells of the 400-year-old Metropolitan Cathedral clanged mournfully for 20 minutes. It was as impressive a piece of political theater as Mexico has ever seen. Now, the big question is whether the momentum unleashed by the march will be channeled into a potent civic movement that will help Mexico address the crime problem -- and kick start a larger effort to hold Mexico's politicians accountable. Many think the scale of the march could signal the arrival of a new grassroots force, just as the government's clumsy response to a devastating 1985 earthquake led to the creation of citizen-action groups that paved the way for political change. There's plenty of anger to fuel a movement. Although the march was focused on incompetent and corrupt law enforcement, the protesters were also demanding dramatic change in the way government operates, from improving education to modernizing the economy. Four years ago, Mexicans put an end to 71 years of one-party rule when they booted out the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and elected political outsider Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) as President. But the PRI still controls half the seats in Congress, and the result has been gridlock -- and a rising tide of popular fury that finally expressed itself on June 27. No Politicians, Please Most impressive was the sophistication of the protesters. The march was a well-organized show of force by a segment of society that traditionally has not been activist: middle-class and upper-middle-class taxpayers. They summoned people to the march through the Internet and community meetings. The organizers, a potpourri of citizen groups led by Mexico United Against Criminality, warned political parties to stay away so as not to "contaminate" the protest. Volunteer marshals wearing green T-shirts urged marchers not to shout political slogans and instead remain silent to honor the crime victims. Now the politicians are scrambling to respond. President Fox said the march was a clear sign authorities had to do more. That's not enough for the organizers, who with presidential elections two years away know now is the best time to wring concessions. They're meeting with Fox to deliver a list of demands for better police training and tougher criminal penalties. "We're going to follow up, because society demands it," says march instigator Eduardo Gallo. His daughter was kidnapped and murdered -- and when police failed to find her killers, he tracked them down and led police to their hideout. That's not the way the system should work, the marchers say. What might someday be called the June 27 movement is determined to change it.  By Geri Smith in Mexico City Edited by Michael S. Serrill
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