Human Rights Advocate brings Mexico’s “Dirty War” to light

by Tim Shenk

Florencia Ruiz Mendoza, a 2009 Human Rights Advocate, researches “forced disappearances” and other abuses. / Nicole Schilit

Rosendo Radilla Pacheco, a former mayor in Mexico’s Guerrero state, was riding a bus with his 11-year-old son on Aug. 25, 1974, when soldiers stopped the bus at a checkpoint.

They recognized Radilla and accused him of writing corridos — Mexican folksongs that sometimes celebrated left-wing causes.

Radilla asked, “Is that a crime?”

A soldier replied, “Not really, but you’re already screwed.”

Radilla was detained, and no one in his family has seen him since. His disappearance is emblematic of Mexico’s so-called “Dirty War” against social activists and left-wing militants during the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Human rights groups and historians are documenting how the Mexican government routinely seized and secretly executed suspected leftist sympathizers during this era.

Florencia Ruiz Mendoza, a 2009 Human Rights Advocate at CSHR, is working to raise awareness about this troubling chapter in recent Mexican history. From 2005 to 2006, Ruiz conducted historical research for the Mexico’s Special Prosecutor’s Office, which then-President Vicente Fox created to investigate the widespread human rights violations of the Dirty War.

Ruiz combed through government archives to compile evidence of illegal detentions and executions, also known as “forced disappearances.” She conducted interviews with victims’ family members in Guerrero state, which was particularly affected by the Dirty War.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office historical report documented nearly 800 cases of forced disappearances and shed new light on the government’s methods. One technique was to simply throw victims into the ocean from military helicopters. Argentina notoriously made use of these so-called vuelos de la muerte, or “flights of death,” during its own Dirty War, but Mexico used them first, according to Ruiz.

Other victims were executed by firing squad. But there is little archival evidence about executions — military records often indicate that a person was detained and interrogated. Then there are no more official records of their existence.

The report created a scandal when it was leaked in 2006. But rather than prosecuting the perpetrators of human rights violations, the government censored the report, shut down the Special Prosecutor’s Office and declared the case closed.

Ruiz believes that the investigation was launched as a temporary pressure tactic against the president’s political opponents. The government does not want to prosecute members of the military because it needs them to combat drug traffickers.

“The Mexican government needs total support from the Mexican army,” Ruiz says. “They are kind of untouchable.”

Ruiz, a resident of Mexico City, came to New York City in August to participate in the Human Rights Advocates Program. She was joined by eight other Advocates from around the world (see pg. 8).

The Human Rights Advocates Program helps grass-roots human rights activists build skills, knowledge and contacts through four months of workshops, networking events and courses at Columbia University.

Ruiz says that the program has helped her continue to advocate for public acknowledgement of Mexico’s human rights violations. She shares about her work with students and professors who have not heard of Mexico’s Dirty War. They are generally aware of human rights violations elsewhere in Latin America, but not in Mexico.

Ruiz notes the irony that Mexico’s Dirty War took place while Mexico granted asylum to Argentineans, Chileans and Uruguayans who fled human rights violations in their countries.

“There has always been this image in the world of Mexico as a strong and stable democracy,” she says. “But what lies behind is very deep social injustice. They were committing crimes against humanity.”

Prof. Elazar Barkan, director of CSHR, served as Ruiz’s mentor in the Advocates program. Barkan is a historian who studies the connection between history and human rights in different contexts. The mentorship proved fruitful for Ruiz, who says, “I could not be more lucky because we work on the same issue.”

Networking events have allowed Ruiz to connect with charitable foundations and other financial supporters of human rights advocacy. However, some potential donors have told her frankly that advocacy regarding Mexico’s Dirty War is too politically sensitive for them to support.

After the Special Prosecutor’s Office was closed, Ruiz and other researchers founded a nonprofit organization, Social Movements Historical Research Center, to continue their investigations into the Dirty War.

Victims’ families have also continued to advocate for government acknowledgement of the crimes committed during the Dirty War. Radilla’s family submitted a claim against the Mexican government to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is expected to rule on it soon.

It is the first such case against Mexico, and Ruiz is optimistic about the verdict. However, Ruiz still sees a long way to go. Mexico’s leaders have always been unwilling to fully disclose the government’s actions during the Dirty War. In order to prevent such abuses from happening in the future, Ruiz believes that the Mexican people must call their government to account.

“I think it is only going to be achieved if the society demands it,” Ruiz says. “That’s why it’s very important to inform the people, inform the young, what happened.”

Published in RightsNews Volume 28, no. 1, February, 2010.
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