SAN SALVADOR ATENCO RIOTERS DRAW BRUTAL POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 002517

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM MX
SUBJECT: SAN SALVADOR ATENCO RIOTERS DRAW BRUTAL POLICE
RESPONSE


Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR LESLIE A. BASSETT, REASONS:
1.4(B/D).


1. (C) Summary. A May 3-4 riot in San Salvador Atenco was
the result of long-simmering local political rivalries. We
see no direct relation to the coming presidential election,
and the group that precipitated the violence appears to have
no reach beyond its community. Nevertheless, the GOM
decision to send in the riot police may have been influenced
by a perceived need to look tough in the run-up to the
elections. The result -- which looked very much like a
police riot -- is an embarrassment for the GOM. End summary.

Local Tensions Boil Over
--------------


2. (U) San Salvador Atenco is a gritty neighborhood located
in Mexico State about 30 miles east of Mexico City. It has a
history of public disorder and violence. On May 3, state
police acting at the request of the mayor attempted to evict
flower sellers illegally installed in the town square. A
local group, the Front of Communities United in Defense of
the Land (Frente de los Pueblos Unidos en Defensa de la
Tierra or FPDT) rallied to the defense of the vendors and
blocked a road. State police attempted to clear the
thoroughfare and quickly found themselves in a battle. They
sought reinforcement by the Federal Preventative Police
(PFP). There were numerous injuries on both sides, one death
(a 14 year old -- it is unclear who killed him),a dozen
policemen taken hostage and beaten, and some 100 protesters
arrested. At dawn on May 4, the state police, reinforced by
a larger number of PFP, moved in again. Using tear gas and
swinging truncheons, they engaged demonstrators wielding
machetes and Molotov cocktails. The police hostages were
freed and another 100 demonstrators arrested, including FPDT
leader Ignacio del Valle. Del Valle faces kidnapping charges
stemming from this incident as a well as an incident in
February when he allegedly took a state official hostage in
an argument over criminal charges against one of del Valle's
supporters.


3. (U) There were numerous claims of police brutality,
including the sacking of homes in the area, beating of
detainees, and sexual assaults on female prisoners (including
a Chilean and a Spaniard, both of whom were expelled from the
country along with some other foreigners picked up during the
riot -- no Americans were involved). Faced with news footage
of the chaos, the GOM has promised action against the police
concerned but has also pointed to the violence by the
demonstrators. The National Human Rights Commission has
promised an investigation. All but about 28 of the 200
detainees have been released.

Politicians Swoop In
--------------


4. (SBU) With the elections less than two months away, many
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) members are blaming
the government for brutality even as the party's presidential
candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is distancing himself
from the protesters. Even a fancied association would
reinforce National Action Party (PAN) candidate Felipe
Calderon's message that a vote for Lopez Obrador is a vote
for the wild-eyed left. Struggling Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI) presidential candidate Roberto
Madrazo, who claims to be the candidate of law and order,
said the government should crack down on such protests,
warning San Salvador Atenco could be a warning of more
disorder to come. Even Subcomandante Marcos, in Mexico City
on his long-running but little-noticed public tour of Mexico,
rushed in, proclaiming he would stay until the jailed
demonstrators were freed.

Revulsion
--------------


5. (U) The episode follows an unrelated April 20 incident in
Michoacan where police evicting striking miners from a steel
mill killed two of the miners. Public opinion on San
Salvador Atenco seems about evenly divided between those
condemning the machete-wielding demonstrators and those
appalled by the police brutality. Many seem to agree that,
while the demonstrators were clearly spoiling for a fight,
the authorities bungled the incident. Commenting on the
inept police tactics, one columnist said it was just as well
Mexico did not have police reality shows, since they would
have to run as comedies.

Some Official Insights
--------------


MEXICO 00002517 002 OF 002



6. (C) A senior official in the Secretariat of Public
Security (SSP) with experience in Mexican intelligence gave
us a behind the scenes version of events. He said the town
was a hotbed of political factions. The mayor is PRD but is
at odds with various party factions. Many groups are unhappy
because the PRI solidly controls state-level offices. In
short, there is lots of infighting and many who feel they
have no political space. The battle over the flower vendors
has been going on for months. It has nothing to do with
flowers and everything to do with political payback. The
vendors are paying the price for not supporting the mayor.
Some of the vendors sought support from the FPDT, and the
mayor foolishly allowed the FPDT a seat at the table. When
negotiations broke down, the state, still smarting over the
FPDT's previous aggressions against a state official, agreed
to send in the police. When things got out of hand, the
state called for the PFP (part of SSP). There were not
enough PFP available on May 3 to intervene decisively (many
were still deployed in Michoacan in the wake of the miners'
strike). When reinforcements assembled May 4, the on-scene
PFP was altogether too eager to rush in. SSP was reluctant,
fearing, correctly as it turned out, that things would get
out of control. Interestingly, the GOM was finally swayed by
the fear that if they did not act it would send the wrong
message to anyone planning post-election disturbances and
would demoralize their riot police.


7. (C) Our contact admitted the police committed excesses (it
would be hard to deny given the news footage),but
predictably blamed most of the problems on the state police.
He denied that the FPDT represented anything larger than
itself, and he did not see in this episode any harbinger of
wider unrest. He claimed the FPDT was long-since discredited
and had even fallen out with other left-wing groups. He said
it had been dis-invited from marches in Mexico City because
of its ugly reputation and propensity for machete-waving. He
saw Marcos's involvement as opportunistic and indicated the
GOM was not going to be baited into a confrontation that
would only satisfy Marcos's lust for publicity.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) Despite Madrazo's dire and self-serving warnings, and
while the approaching elections are no doubt heightening
emotions, we can see no clear connection between this event
and the elections other than the GOM's belief that it had to
show firmness in the run-up to July 2. Ironically, because
of the embarrassment the police have caused the government,
it may become harder to employ them in the future. The FPDT
has been around for years and was involved in another
humiliating episode early in the Fox Administration when
plans for a new Mexico City airport at San Salvador Atenco
were thwarted by machete-wielding protesters led by the FPDT.
On that occasion Fox backed down, and he was roundly
criticized for doing so.


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GARZA