JORGE MALDONADO DE LOS COBOS

TLATELOLCO MASSACRE
DR. ALOYS RUTTER CASTRO
AS WE ALL KNOW, ONE OF THE WORST EVENTS IN OUR HISTORY, IS THE TLATELOLCO
MASSACRE, AN UNNECESSARY SALUGHTER, VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS, AND
FINISHING WITH INNOCENT LIVES, THAT ONLY WANTED TO REQUEST THEIR RIGHTS TI
BE RECOGNISED AND RESPECTED.

IN MY RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED LOTS OF SAD INFORMATION, MORE THAN I ALREADY

KNEW, AND INFORMATION THAT ONLY CORROBORATED AND CONFIRMED THAT OUR
GOVERNMENT, INSTEAD OF PROTECT US, DAY BY DAY, HIDE THE TRUTH, KILL CITIZENS,
COMMIT CRIMES AS THEY WANT, AND WE REALLY DON´T OPEN OUR EYES AS A
SOCIETY, WE DON´T CHANGE AND, INSTEAD, WE CONTINUE SUPPORTING THE SAME
PEOPLE, OR KEEP OUR EYES CLOSED AND ACT LIKE NOTHING IS HAPPENING.

OTHER FACT THAT SHOW HOW BAD WE ARE AS A SOCIETY, NOW AND INT THOSE
DAYS, IS THAT, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTORS IN THIS TRAGEDY, LUIS
ECHEVERRÍA, INSTEAD OF BEING PROCESSED AND TREATED AS A CRIMINAL, TWO
YEARS AFTER THE MASSACRE, HE BECAME PRESIDENT OF OUR COUNTRY, HE GOT A
BIG PRIZE, NOT A PUNISHMENT FOR HIS ACTIONS.
TO FINISH WITH THIS INTRODUCTION, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT, ALSO WE AS A
SOCIETY, IN THE VIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA, WE´RE PARTNERS IN CRIME WITH THE
GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE SOCIAL MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS, DID´NT DO THEIR JOBS AS
INVESTIGATORS, AS PEOPLE WHO ARE OBLIGATED TO SAY THE TRUTH, NOT HIDING IT
AND PROTECTING THE GOVERNMENT, THE ARE NOT PRESIDENT´S EMPLOYEES, OR
SOLDIERS, AS MANY OF THEM SAID.

OFFICIALLY FORMED AFTER THE VIOLATION OF THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT'S

UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY DURING THE SUMMER OF 1968, THE NATIONAL STRIKE
COUNCIL (CNH) ORGANIZED ALL SUBSEQUENT PROTESTS AGAINST THE DÍAZ ORDAZ
GOVERNMENT. THE CNH WAS A DELEGATION OF 70-YEAR-OLD STUDENTS.
UNIVERSITIES AND PREPARATORY SCHOOLS IN MEXICO; COORDINATED PROTESTS TO
PROMOTE SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND POLITICAL REFORMS. AT ITS PEAK, THE CNH
HAD 240 STUDENT DELEGATES, WHOSE MAIN TASKS AND OBJECTIVES WERE TO BRING
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES THE DISCUSSIONS AND PROPOSALS THAT WERE MADE
IN THE STRUGGLE COMMITTEES AND ASSEMBLIES. OF THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS THAT
MADE UP SAID BODY. RAÚL ÁLVAREZ GARÍN, SÓCRATES CAMPOS LEMUS, MARCELINO
PERELLÓ AND GILBERTO GUEVARA NIEBLA WERE SOME OF THE DELEGATES OF THE
NATIONAL STRIKE COUNCIL, ALTHOUGH WOMEN ALSO PARTICIPATED AS
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SCHOOLS SUCH WAS THE CASE OF ROBERTA AVENDAÑO
AND MYRTHOKLEIA GONZÁLEZ GALLARDO.
THE CONSTANT DEMAND OF THE NATIONAL STRIKE COUNCIL WAS PUBLIC DIALOGUE
WITH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES.
THE STUDENT DEMANDS WERE SYNTHESIZED IN THE PETITION DOCUMENT
PRESENTED BY THE CNH IN AUGUST 1968.
REPEAL OF ARTICLES 145 AND 145B OF THE PENAL CODE (WHICH PENALIZES THE
IMPRISONMENT OF ANY PERSON WHO ATTENDS MEETINGS OF THREE OR MORE
PEOPLE, WHICH IS CONSIDERED TO THREATEN PUBLIC ORDER).
THE ABOLITION OF THE GRENADIERS (TACTICAL POLICE FORCE).
FREEDOM FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS.
COMPENSATION TO THOSE INJURED DURING THE RIOTS.
THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PREVIOUS BLOODSHED
(INCLUDING THE JULY AND AUGUST MEETINGS).
THE DISMISSAL OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE, LUIS CUETO, HIS DEPUTY, RAÚL MENDIOLEA,
AND THE GRANANDERO COMMANDER, GENERAL A. FRÍAS.
ON JULY 22, 1968, A RIOT BETWEEN RIVAL TEEN GANGS BROKE OUT IN DOWNTOWN
MEXICO CITY. MOST OF THE GANG MEMBERS WERE STUDENTS AT VOCATIONAL
SCHOOLS # 2 AND # 5 VERSUS MEMBERS ENROLLED AT ISAAC OCHOTORENA HIGH
SCHOOL. THE FIGHT BEGAN WHEN THE FORMER THREW STONES AT THE
WINDOWPANES OF THE LATTER SCHOOL. THE RIOTS RESUMED THE NEXT DAY.
RESPONDING TO THE CALL TO RESTORE ORDER, THE POLICE BROKE INTO VOCATIONAL
SCHOOL # 5; CLAIMING THAT IT WAS TO CAPTURE MEMBERS OF STREET GANGS WHO
HAD ENROLLED IN THE SCHOOL. THE GRENADIERS (RIOT POLICE) WERE USED BY THE
MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL AND REPRESS STUDENT PROTESTERS AND
WERE USED FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAINST THE STUDENTS IN JULY 1968. HOWEVER,
THE RIOT POLICE ATTACKED NUMEROUS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN THE PROCESS
OF CLEARING VOCATIONAL SCHOOL # 5. IN AN INFORMAL INTERVIEW WITH SOME
GRENADIERS, ANTONIO CAREAGA SAID THAT "THE GRENADIERS SAID THAT THE
AUTHORITIES GAVE THE MEN IN THE RIOT SQUAD THIRTY PESOS FOR EACH STUDENT
THEY BEAT AND TOOK TO JAIL ».

THE STUDENT MOVEMENT BEGAN TO UNITE AFTER THE GOVERNMENT'S ASSAULT ON

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL # 5, WHICH MARKED THE FIRST MAJOR VIOLATION OF STUDENT
AUTONOMY. THE MOVEMENT BEGAN TO GAIN THE SUPPORT OF STUDENTS OUTSIDE
THE CAPITAL AND OTHER SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY, WHICH CONTINUED TO BUILD UNTIL
THAT OCTOBER. THE STUDENTS FORMED BRIGADES OF SIX OR MORE STUDENTS WHO
DISTRIBUTED BROCHURES ABOUT THE PROBLEMS IN THE STREETS, MARKETS AND, IN
MOST CASES, ON PUBLIC BUSES. THESE ORGANIZATIONS, THE SMALLEST UNITS OF THE
CNH, DECIDED THE SCOPE AND THE PROBLEMS THE STUDENT MOVEMENT WOULD
ADDRESS. THESE INCLUDED BOTH RURAL AND URBAN CONCERNS. BRIGADISTAS
BOARDED BUSES TO TALK TO PASSENGERS ABOUT GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION AND
REPRESSION, WHILE OTHERS DISTRIBUTED BROCHURES AND COLLECTED DONATIONS.
OVER TIME, PASSENGERS AND PASSENGERS BUS DRIVERS BEGAN TO SYMPATHIZE
WITH THE STUDENTS' DEMANDS FOR DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE, AND THE STUDENTS
BEGAN TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
ON AUGUST 1, THE RECTOR OF THE NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO
(UNAM) BARROS SIERRA LED 50,000 STUDENTS IN A PEACEFUL PROTEST AGAINST THE
REPRESSIVE ACTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE VIOLATION OF UNIVERSITY
AUTONOMY.
THE ORDER OF THE DEMONSTRATION DEMONSTRATED TO THE MEXICAN PUBLIC
THAT THE STUDENTS WERE NOT AGITATORS; FURTHERMORE, THE DEMONSTRATION
SHOWED THAT SOCIALIST AGITATORS WERE UNLIKELY TO HAVE COORDINATED THE
ACTIONS OF THE STUDENTS. THE PROTEST ROUTE WAS SPECIFICALLY PLANNED TO
AVOID THE PLAZA DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN OR THE «ZÓCALO» (THE MAIN SQUARE OF
THE CITY FROM MEXICO). THE ROUTE OF THE MARCH STARTED FROM CIUDAD
UNIVERSITARIA (CU), RAN ALONG AVENIDA INSURGENTES TO FÉLIX CUEVAS, TURNED
AT FÉLIX CUEVAS TOWARDS AVENIDA COYOACÁN AND RETURNED ALONG AVENIDA
UNIVERSIDAD TO THE STARTING POINT. THE MARCH CONTINUED WITHOUT MAJOR
DISTURBANCES OR ARRESTS.
ON SEPTEMBER 9, BARROS SIERRA ISSUED A STATEMENT TO STUDENTS AND
TEACHERS TO RETURN TO CLASS, SINCE "OUR INSTITUTIONAL DEMANDS ... HAVE BEEN
ESSENTIALLY SATISFIED BY THE RECENT ANNUAL MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
REPUBLIC." CNH ISSUED AN ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT IN THE DAILY EL DÍA FOR THE
SILENT MARCH ON SEPTEMBER 13; INVITED "ALL WORKERS, FARMERS, TEACHERS,
STUDENTS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC" TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MARCH.8 THE CNH
EMPHASIZED THAT IT HAD "NO CONNECTION WITH THE TWENTIETH OLYMPIC
GAMES ... OR WITH THE NATIONAL HOLIDAYS THAT COMMEMORATE INDEPENDENCE
[FROM MEXICO] ", AND THAT" THIS COMMITTEE HAS NO INTENTION OF INTERFERING
WITH THEM IN ANY WAY. THE ANNOUNCEMENT REITERATED THE CNH'S LIST OF SIX
DEMANDS.
WITH THE OPENING OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES, DÍAZ ORDAZ WAS DETERMINED TO
STOP THESE DEMONSTRATIONS. IN SEPTEMBER, HE ORDERED THE ARMY TO OCCUPY
THE UNAM CAMPUS, WHICH TOOK OVER THE CAMPUS, BEATING AND ARRESTING
STUDENTS INDISCRIMINATELY. BARROS SIERRA RESIGNED IN PROTEST ON SEPTEMBER
23.
STUDENTS BEGAN PREPARING FOR DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS.
THEY PUT UP MUCH STRONGER RESISTANCE WHEN THE POLICE AND THE ARMY TRIED
TO OCCUPY THE CAMPUSES OF THE NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF
ZACATENCO AND SANTO TOMÁS. THE BATTLE LASTED FROM 5:00 P.M. ON
SEPTEMBER 23 UNTIL THE EARLY HOURS OF SEPTEMBER 24. THE DOCTOR JUSTO IGOR
DE LEÓN LOYOLA WROTE IN HIS BOOK THE NIGHT OF SANTO TOMÁS: «TODAY I HAVE
SEEN BLOODIER FIGHTS, BATTLES UNEQUAL: BOTH SIDES ARE ARMED ... BUT WHAT A
DIFFERENCE IN WEAPONS, .22 CALIBER PISTOLS AGAINST M-1 MILITARY RIFLES,
BAZOOKAS AGAINST MOLOTOV COCKTAILS ».
THE POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS HELD THEIR CAMPUS AGAINST THE ARMY FOR MORE
THAN TWELVE HOURS, PROVOKING STRONG OPPOSITION FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
THE FRENCH DAILY L'EXPRESS STATED THAT 15 PEOPLE DIED IN THE BATTLES AND
THAT MORE THAN A THOUSAND BULLETS WERE FIRED; THE GOVERNMENT REPORTED
THREE DEATHS AND 45 INJURIES.
ON OCTOBER 2, 1968, THE NATIONAL STRIKE COUNCIL CALLED A RALLY IN THE PLAZA
DE LAS TRES CULTURAS, LOCATED IN THE NONOALCO-TLATELOLCO HOUSING UNIT,
WITH THE PURPOSE OF INFORMING ABOUT THE SITUATION OF THE ENA CHAPINGO,
RECOGNIZING THE BRIGADES FOR THEIR WORK IN THE MOVEMENT, TO WARN THAT
THEY WOULD NOT GO TO CASCO SANTO TOMÁS AND OTHER TOPICS OF INTEREST TO
THE STUDENT MOVEMENT.23 ACCORDING TO SOME SOURCES, AROUND 10,000
STUDENTS GATHERED IN THE PLAZA DE LAS TRES CULTURAS, TEACHERS, PARENTS AND
OTHER PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED THE MOVEMENT, WHO LOOKED TOWARDS THE
THIRD FLOOR OF THE CHIHUAHUA BUILDING, WHERE THE SPEAKERS OF THE RALLY,
MEMBERS OF THE CNH, WERE FOUND.
TWO HELICOPTERS, ONE FROM THE POLICE AND THE OTHER FROM THE ARMY, FLEW
OVER THE SQUARE. AROUND 5:55 P.M. GREEN FLARES WERE FIRED FROM THE
NEARBY BUILDING OF THE MEXICAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN RELATIONS. AROUND 6:15
P.M. M. TWO MORE FLARES WERE FIRED, THIS TIME FROM A HELICOPTER (ONE GREEN
AND ONE RED) AS 5,000 SOLDIERS AND 200 TANKS AND TRUCKS SURROUNDED THE
PLAZA.11 25 MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE FIRST SHOTS IN THE PLAZA
REMAINED WRONG DEFINED FOR DECADES AFTER 1968. RECORDS AND
INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY US AND MEXICAN GOVERNMENT SOURCES SINCE 2000
HAVE ALLOWED RESEARCHERS TO STUDY THE FACTS AND DRAW NEW CONCLUSIONS.
THE QUESTION OF WHO SHOT FIRST REMAINED UNSOLVED FOR YEARS AFTER THE
MASSACRE. THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT SAID THE GUNFIRE FROM SURROUNDING
APARTMENTS SPARKED THE ARMY ATTACK, BUT THE STUDENTS SAID THE
HELICOPTERS APPEARED TO SIGNAL THE ARMY TO FIRE INTO THE CROWD.
JOURNALIST ELENA PONIATOWSKA SELECTED INTERVIEWS FROM THOSE PRESENT
AND DESCRIBED HER EVENTS IN HER BOOK LA NOCHE DE TLATELOLCO: “THE FLAMES
SUDDENLY APPEARED IN THE SKY AND EVERYONE LOOKED UP AUTOMATICALLY. THE
FIRST SHOTS WERE HEARD. THE CROWD PANICKED AND BEGAN TO RUN IN ALL
DIRECTIONS. DESPITE THE CNH'S EFFORTS TO RESTORE ORDER, THE CROWD IN THE
SQUARE QUICKLY FELL INTO CHAOS.
SOON AFTER, THE OLIMPIA BATTALION, A SECRET BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT MADE
FOR THE SECURITY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES, MADE UP OF SOLDIERS, POLICE OFFICERS
AND FEDERAL SECURITY AGENTS, RECEIVED THE ORDER TO ARREST THE LEADERS OF
THE CNH AND ADVANCED UNTIL THE SQUARE. MEMBERS OF THE OLIMPIA BATTALION
WORE WHITE GLOVES OR WHITE SCARVES TIED TO THE LEFT HAND TO DISTINGUISH
THEMSELVES FROM CIVILIANS AND PREVENT SOLDIERS FROM SHOOTING AT THEM.
CAPTAIN ERNESTO MORALES SOTO DECLARED THAT “MMEDIATELY AFTER SEEING A
FLARE IN THE SKY, THE PRE-ESTABLISHED SIGNAL, WE HAD TO SEAL THE TWO
ENTRANCES MENTIONED ABOVE AND PREVENT ANYONE FROM ENTERING OR
LEAVING.
THE ENSUING ASSAULT ON THE PLAZA LEFT DOZENS DEAD AND MANY MORE
WOUNDED IN THE ENSUING PERIOD. SOLDIERS RESPONDED BY FIRING AT NEARBY
BUILDINGS AND INTO CROWDS, HITTING NOT ONLY PROTESTERS, BUT ALSO
BYSTANDERS AND BYSTANDERS. PROTESTERS AND BYSTANDERS ALIKE, INCLUDING
STUDENTS, JOURNALISTS (ONE OF WHOM WAS ITALIAN JOURNALIST ORIANA
FALLACI), AND CHILDREN, WERE HIT BY BULLETS AND PILES OF BODIES SOON FELL TO
THE GROUND. MEANWHILE, IN THE CHIHUAHUA BUILDING, WHERE THE SPEAKERS
WERE LOCATED, MEMBERS OF THE OLIMPIA BATTALION PUSHED PEOPLE AND
ORDERED THEM TO LIE ON THE GROUND NEAR THE ELEVATOR WALLS. PEOPLE CLAIM
THAT THESE MEN WERE THE PEOPLE WHO FIRED FIRST AT THE SOLDIERS AND THE
CROWD.
VIDEO EVIDENCE ALSO INDICATES THAT AT LEAST TWO COMPANIES FROM THE
OLIMPIA BATTALION HID IN NEARBY APARTMENT BUILDINGS AND PLACED A MACHINE
GUN IN AN APARTMENT IN THE MOLINO DEL REY BUILDING, WHERE A SISTER-IN-LAW
OF THEN-SECRETARY OF STATE AND LATER PRESIDENT LUIS ECHEVERRÍA ÁLVAREZ
LIVED; THE CHURCH OF SANTIAGO DE TLATELOLCO, WHERE SNIPERS WERE PLACED ON
THE ROOF; THE NEARBY CONVENT AND THE FOREIGN RELATIONS TOWER, WHERE
MANY PEOPLE PARTICIPATED, INCLUDING THOSE WHO FIRED THE FIRST TWO FLARES;
A MACHINE GUN ON THE 19TH FLOOR; AND A VIDEO CAMERA ON THE 17TH FLOOR.
VIDEO EVIDENCE SHOWS 10 MEN IN WHITE GLOVES COMING OUT OF THE CHURCH
AND MEETING THE SOLDIERS, WHO POINT THEIR GUNS AT THEM. ONE OF THE MEN
SHOWS WHAT APPEARS TO BE IDENTIFICATION, AND THEY ARE LET GO.
THE MASSACRE CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, WITH SOLDIERS AND POLICE
OPERATING HOUSE TO HOUSE IN THE APARTMENT BUILDINGS ADJACENT TO THE
PLAZA. THE CHIHUAHUA BUILDING AND THE REST OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAD TO
CUT THEIR ELECTRICITY AND TELEPHONES. WITNESSES TO THE EVENT CLAIM THAT THE
BODIES WERE FIRST REMOVED IN AMBULANCES AND LATER THE MILITARY ARRIVED
AND PILED UP BODIES.
THEY, WITHOUT KNOWING IF THEY WERE ALIVE OR DEAD, IN THE MILITARY TRUCKS,
WHILE SOME SAY THAT THE BODIES WERE PILED UP IN GARBAGE TRUCKS AND SENT
TO UNKNOWN DESTINATIONS. THE SOLDIERS GATHERED THE STUDENTS ON THE
WALLS OF THE ELEVATORS OF THE CHIHUAHUA BUILDING, STRIPPED THEM NAKED
AND BEAT THEM.
AROUND 3000 ATTENDEES WERE BROUGHT TO THE CONVENT NEXT TO THE CHURCH
AND LEFT THERE UNTIL EARLY IN THE MORNING, MOST OF THEM WERE PEOPLE WHO
HAD LITTLE OR NOTHING IN COMMON WITH THE STUDENTS AND WHO WERE ONLY
NEIGHBORS, PASSERSBY AND OTHERS WHO WERE IN THE PLAZA JUST TO LISTEN TO
THE SPEECH. OTHER WITNESSES CLAIM THAT IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED,
MEMBERS OF THE OLIMPIA BATTALION WOULD DISGUISE THEMSELVES AS SERVICE
EMPLOYEES AND SEARCH HOUSES FOR STUDENTS.

THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT EXPLANATION FOR THE INCIDENT WAS THAT ARMED
PROVOCATEURS AMONG THE PROTESTERS, STATIONED IN BUILDINGS OVERLOOKING
THE CROWD, HAD STARTED THE SHOOTING, AND THAT UPON FINDING THEMSELVES
TARGETED BY SNIPERS, THE SECURITY FORCES HAD SIMPLY RETURNED SHOOTING IN
SELF DEFENSE. THE FOLLOWING MORNING, NEWSPAPERS REPORTED THAT BETWEEN
20 AND 28 PEOPLE WERE KILLED, HUNDREDS WERE INJURED, AND HUNDREDS MORE
WERE ARRESTED.
MOST OF THE MEXICAN MEDIA REPORTED THAT THE STUDENTS PROVOKED THE
ARMY'S RESPONSE WITH SNIPER FIRE FROM THE APARTMENT BUILDINGS
SURROUNDING THE PLAZA. THE HEADLINE OF THE MORNING OF EL DÍA ON OCTOBER
3, 1968 READ THE FOLLOWING: "CRIMINAL PROVOCATION AT THE TLATELOLCO RALLY
CAUSED A BLOODY MESS." THE GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED MEDIA REPORTED THE
EVENTS ON THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT SIDE THAT NIGHT, BUT A 2001
INVESTIGATION REVEALED DOCUMENTS SHOWING THAT THE SNIPERS WERE
MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL GUARD, WHO WERE INSTRUCTED TO SHOOT AT
MILITARY FORCES TO PROVOKE THEM.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masacre_de_Tlatelolco
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-45714908
https://www.cndh.org.mx/noticia/matanza-de-tlatelolco
https://www.animalpolitico.com/bbc/matanza-tlatelolco-que-paso-el-2-de-octubre-
1968/