Friday, March 27, 2009

Juárez Again

The second part of yesterday's "Bajo Reserva" that caught my attention was about the Mexico's most notorious border town:
Don't think that Ciudad Juárez is a bed of roses. The federal occupation has brought on a drop in executions, but the threat against civilians continues or has gotten worse. An NGO that asked not to be named for obvious reasons tells us that although the gunmen are feeling calmer with the presence of the police and soldiers (because, yes, they have stopped killing each other, the civilians aren't having such a great time. Reports of human rights violations, abuses, excesses, and disappearences are trickling out. A powerful document is being prepared. Pay attention.
Proceso, which had the generally favorable report from Juárez a couple of weeks ago, reports that there's been a 70 percent drop in executions since the army arrived.

So El Universal is taking a stronger anti-government, anti-law and order, human rights-conscious position than Proceso. I'm sure Proceso will bounce back to its muckraking roots, but this is unprecedented.

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