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. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity GARZA