The civil unrest in San Salvador Atenco of 2006 began on Wednesday, May 3, when police prevented a group of 60 flower vendors from selling at the Texcoco local market in the

State of México The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

, about from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. State police used

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

and arrest against resisters. The flower vendors appealed to the residents of

San Salvador Atenco San Salvador Atenco is the municipal seat of Atenco, in the Mexican state of Mexico. The name "Atenco" comes from a Nahuatl phrase meaning "place on the edge of water". The town Fifteen excavations have been done in this area, uncovering mammot ...

, a small neighboring community about northeast of Mexico City, famous for creating their resistance organization against the development of an airport on their land in 2002 ( an organization called the "FPDT", and known to be allied with the

Zapatista Army of National Liberation The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (Mexican ), is a far-left political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Sin ...

). The Atenco residents

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

ed the

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

to Texcoco near their town. In response, hundreds of state police were summoned to remove the blockade, but were unsuccessful after five attempts. The confrontations were very violent, causing

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican politician who served as the 64th president of Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ...

, then Governor of the State of Mexico, to ask president

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...

the support of federal forces. The resulting chaos lead to the death of two protesters, and dozens of people (mostly women) were

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

by the police forces.

FPDT: "Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra"

The F.P.D.T stands for "Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra,” or “People’s Front in the Defense of the Land.” The F.P.D.T started as a group of residents of the rural community

that were in public opposition to the construction of the new airport on their land. They began to hold protests and demonstrations expressing their sentiments towards the government's plans for the airport in their town. As their protests continued, they began to gain support nationally and eventually internationally. As they continued to gain strength and support, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

wanted to displace to make way for the airport, thus the civil unrest of 2006 broke out. After the attacks of 2006, the F.P.D.T shifted their focus as a group. They began to do more work focused around receiving justice for the victims of the attacks. They continue to hold protests and demonstrations in opposition to the violent behaviors of the government that occurred against the protestors in 2006. The group is still active today, as they focus on continuing to shine a light on the brutality that occurred against their people. For example, each year on May 3rd they hold demonstrations remembering those who were affected by the violence. They also continue to remain relevant today through social media platforms, where they post information and resources about their cause and continue to support those who have been affected by police brutality.

Timeline of Events

2001

On October 22, President

announces in Diario Oficial de la Federación plans to move the International Airport of Mexico City project to Texcoco. The construction of the airport would displace local indigenous groups in Texcoco of more than 13.3 thousand acres of land that belonged to 13 ejidos, communally owned farm land. The Commission of Appraisal of National Assets (Cabin) valued the land at 7.20 pesos and the irrigation at 25 pesos per square meter.

2002

The displacement of these local indigenous groups and low payout sparked outrage. As a result, locals organized to create the Community Front in Defense of Land (Frente del pueblo en defensa de la tierra or FPDT in Spanish). The FPDT organized a protest of over 500 locals to halt the construction of the airport and return their ancestral land. On July 11 the FPDT and locals faced repression by state forces. They were blocked from being able to enter Teotihuacan where they were looking to protest then governor of the State of Mexico

Arturo Montiel Arturo Montiel Rojas (born October 15, 1943) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was a governor of the State of México and a federal deputy. Early life and education Montiel is the son of Greg ...

. On July 25, as a result of the state repression and violence, Jose Enrique Espinoza died. On August 6, due to the death of Jose Enrique Espinoza after the violent July repression, President Fox announced the cancellation of the project and returned the expropriated land to the people of Texcoco.

2006

On April 12, the FPDT, who had in 2005 vowed to unite in solidarity with other local resistance movements, joined La Otra Campaña to confront the blockade to the Belisario Domínguez market two days prior by state forces. The blockade forced local farmers trying to sell their produce to turn back. On May 3, in retaliation to the confrontation in April, municipal and state troops blocked local flower vendors from selling their flowers. The vendors resisted and violence ensued. The flower vendors turned to the FPDT to aid in their resistance. The FPDT then organized a blockade of the important road Lecheria-Texcoco. Ex-president

, who was then governor of the State of Mexico, sends highly armed state forces to stop the blockade. A violent confrontation followed resulting in the assassination of a 14-year old boy. The violent confrontation between protestors and state forces last days resulting in 2 people murdered, 26 women raped, 50 people heavily injured, 200 people illegally detained. A report on human rights violations also investigated numerous more cases or sexual harassment, torture, and rape of people who were imprisoned as a result of the protest. On May 10, a march was organized in solidarity with the protestors of Atenco and Texcoco who were victims of state violence and detained.

2014

On September 2, after becoming president in 2012, Enrique Peña Nieto, who was the governor of the State of Mexico that sent in the state forces to San Salvador Atenco in May 2006, announced once again the construction of the international airport on the Texcoco lake. In late 2018, at the end of Peña Nieto's presidential term, the plans to build the airport were canceled once again following a referendum that declared the airport should be built in a different location.

National Human Rights Commission report

On 16 October 2006, National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) President José Luis Soberanes Fernández published the results of its five-month investigation of the case. The CNDH called the incident a "tragedy", called particular attention to the excessive use of

force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...

and

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s by state and federal authorities, and specifically found that: * 207 people (including ten minors) were victims of cruel,

inhuman or degrading treatment Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention ...

. * 145 were arbitrarily

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

ed. * 26 women suffered

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

. * 5 foreigners, in addition to suffering

, were illegally expelled from the country."CNDH pide reparar daño por operativos de Atenco"
''El Universal,'' 17 October 2006. In connection with these findings, the CNDH submitted recommendations to the federal Secretary of Public Security,

Eduardo Medina Mora Eduardo Tomás Medina-Mora Icaza (Mexico City; 30 January 1957) is a Mexican lawyer. He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico from 10 March 2015 to 8 October 2019, when the Mexican Senate approved his resignation following an ongo ...

; the governor of the state of México,

; and the commissioner of the

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. These included, ''inter alia,'' improved training for the security forces, due compensation for the next-of-kin of the two fatalities and for all those whose

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

were violated, and a review of the expulsion procedures applicable to foreign visitors. The report concluded that the violence could have been prevented through dialogue, but that "preference was given to the use of public force".

Police brutality

The National Human Rights Commission has charged that police used

excessive force Excessive Force is a musical side project started in 1991 by Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and Buzz McCoy of My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. History In 1991, Excessive Force released the single "Conquer Your House", followed by the album ''Conque ...

, smashing windows and furniture, and hauling people from their beds. The commission is investigating reports that police

molested Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d female detainees and injured children, elderly and the

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

Sources

San Salvador Atenco in Mutiny!
Infoshop.org
Continuing Struggle Against Violent Repression in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico
Cleveland Independent Media Center

NarcoNews.com
Police Brutality in Atenco, Mexico
UpsideDownWorld.org
Police Brutality in Mexico - Znet
Zmag.org
Mexico: police storm Atenco
World War 4 Report
Breve cronología de los acontecimientos en san Salvador Atenco
Rebelion.com
Se cumplen 20 años del surgimiento del FPDT
La Jornada
EL traslado fallido del Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México a Texcoco
ciELO.org

References

Atenco - Women of Mexican Dissent the New Target http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0605/S00313.htm

External links

Amnesty International petition to the Attorney General for take the cases officially as a matter of federal jurisdiction

Short Video of violence in San Salvador Atenco

"Atenco: Breaking the Silence" (Video Documentary)

Mexican News Coverage
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Salvador Atenco, 2006 Civil Unrest Riots and civil disorder in Mexico 2006 in Mexico 2006 riots Vicente Fox Political scandals in Mexico