Genaro Vázquez Rojas (June 10, 1931February 2, 1972) was a Mexican school teacher, organiser,

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

, and guerrilla fighter.

Civic Associations

Guerreran Civic Community

Genaro Vázquez Rojas studied law at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) (UNAM), however did not finish. At age 24 he co-founded the Guerreran Civic Community (CCG), while teaching at schools in the slums of the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

. The following year in 1958 Vázquez Rojas participated in the Revolutionary Teachers' Movement (MRM) during the

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

and seizure of the

Secretariat of Public Education The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of ...

. Vázquez Rojas would eventually be fired from his teacher's position and go on to represent coffee,

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

, and palm workers before the Department of Agrarian Affairs and Colonization (DAAC).

Guerrero Civic Association

Between 1958 and 1960, the CCG would transform into the with the stated goals of fighting for

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

and peasant workers. On May 13, 1960, Vázquez Rojas called his first neighborhood meeting in the San Francisco district of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, demanding an investigation of Raul Caballero Aburto, then

Governor of Guerrero List of governors of Guerrero since it became a state of Mexico in 1917. References See also * List of Mexican state governors {{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Of Guerrero * Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Fed ...

. On October 30, 1960, the ACG led 5,000 people in protest in a civic stand-in, similar to that of a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

, in support of recent demonstrations by students at the state university. Two years later, on December 31, 1962, 3,000 protesters assembled in

Iguala Iguala (), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located from the List of capitals in Mexico, state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico. ...

, police attacked the demonstrators, 28 people were killed, dozens wounded, and 156 were arrested. The ACG was outlawed following the protests and Vázquez Rojas was accused of killing an agent assigned to watch him. Vázquez Rojas fled to the north-east, where he lay in hiding for four years. Genaro Vázquez Rojas was eventually captured at the offices of the National Liberation Movement ( es, Movimiento de Liberación National) (MLN) on November 9, 1966. On April 22, 1968, the ACG would attack the prison in Iguala and free its captured leader. Following the escape, Vázquez Rojas fled to the hills of the sierra, where he began working on the goals of the ACG on a national level. With the new outlook came a new name, the ACG was reformed into the Guerreran National Civic Association (GNCA).

Guerreran National Civic Association

The GNCA, inspired by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

's 1962 Declaration of Havana and the National Liberation Movement's (MLN) August 1961 program, was created to sustain a prolonged guerrilla struggle. The GNCA aimed to create links to other guerrilla organizations and coordinate revolution not just through Guerrero, but also throughout the country. In December 1971, once the goals of the GNCA had been met, the organization was renamed to the Asociación Cívica Nacional Revolucionaria (ACNR). The ACNR continued to support the guerrilla groups and work toward uniting other radical groups.

Asociación Cívica Nacional Revolucionaria

The ACNR conducted three guerrilla operations, all taking place between the years of 1969 and 1971. On April 19, 1969 the ACNR organized an assault on the Mexican Commercial Bank, the attack was deemed a failure as the police were able to recover three million stolen pesos and detain the guerrillas who conducted the raid. Due to a mechanical problem with the getaway vehicle, a taxi, the guerrillas were quickly captured and brought to custody. On January 5, 1971, Conaciano Luna Radilla, manager of Commercial Bank of the South, was kidnapped on the highway. A ransom of half a million pesos was requested and received and Conaciano was freed. The final act was taken on November 19, 1971, with the kidnapping of Jaime Castrejón Diez. Diez was the owner of a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

concession, proprietor of "Yoli" soft drink factories, Chancellor of University of Guerrero, and ex-mayor of

Taxco Taxco de Alarcón (; usually referred to as simply Taxco) is a small city and administrative center of Taxco de Alarcón Municipality located in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Taxco is located in the north-central part of the state, from the cit ...

. The ACNR demanded the release of nine

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s, two and a half million pesos, and formal trials of all peasants held in

military barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. The ACNR received a ransom of 500,000 pesos, and the release of the nine political prisoners to Cuba. Diez was released on December 1, 1971.

Death

The ACNR, operating along the Costa Grande between

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

and the

Balsas River The Balsas River (Spanish Río Balsas, also locally known as the Mezcala River, or Atoyac River) is a major river of south-central Mexico. The basin flows through the states of Guerrero, México, Morelos, and Puebla. Downstream of Ciudad Al ...

, drew the ire of the federal government for their actions. In response, they were pursued by army battalions, helicopters,

paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

, and

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

technology developed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. On February 2, 1972, Vázquez Rojas was captured by the army after fleeing a car wreck, it is believed he died from his wounds, although local sources in Morelia disputed the government’s statement and claimed that Vázquez was extrajudicially executed by the army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez Rojas, Genaro 1933 births 1972 deaths Mexican communists 20th-century Mexican educators Mexican rebels Mexican revolutionaries People from Guerrero Mexican guerrillas Socialism in Mexico Military history of Mexico