Mexico’s poet, Javier Sicilia, calls for unity to help combat Mexico’s violence

by Deysi Cuevas
Extra News

CHICAGO — Since 2006, when Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon, began a crackdown on drug cartels, over 34,600 people have been killed. On Tuesday, April 17, poet, novelist, journalist and activist Javier Sicilia spoke at the National Museum of Mexican Art regarding Mexico’s national emergency and the importance of mobilizing and uniting to create a better Mexico.

On March 28, 2011, Sicilia’s son Juan Francisco Sicilia Ortega was murdered in Temixco, Morelos, Mexico by drug gang members. In response, Sicilia organized several protests which have called for an end to the war on drugs, the legalization of drugs and the removal of President Calderon.

“It’s not just Felipe Calderon, It’s all the political parties…whether it’s the PRI, PAN or PRD, all the governments, whatever their color, continue to govern in a patrimonial fashion,” said Sicilia. “If there were clean, political elections and political processing in the state, the reality would be different but wherever you turn, you see the same thing; the same impunity, the same insecurity, the same corruption. It’s a result of patrimonialism, [the] abuse of power as a way to legitimize criminality.”

Mexico’s level of impunity has an average of 80 percent, with some of the most homicide-heavy cities reaching 90 percent, according to a new study on the rule of law in Mexico.

“If we were in Mexico right now, and decided to kill someone, we could do it and there would only be a two percent chance of getting caught. That’s why the criminals are doing what they’re doing. Even with the army in the streets, it means that the army itself is contributing to these deaths,” Silicia states, adding the importance of mobilizing, for the public to unite and demand a reform because it’s a struggle for North Americans as well.

“As long as …

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