Corpus Christi massacre
Encyclopedia
The Corpus Christi Massacre, Corpus Christi Thursday Massacre (or El Halconazo (The hawk strike) because of the participation of a group of elite Mexican army men known as Los Halcones (The hawks) is the name given gives the events in Mexico City
on June 10, 1971; the day of the Corpus Christi festival
. It became the colloquial name for the massacre
when a student demonstration in support of students of Monterrey
was violently suppressed by a paramilitary
group for the government called Los Halcones. President Luis Echeverría Álvarez, broke away from the facts, but never clarified the situation was always officially denied. No one was ever blamed for the bloody events, let alone been brought to justice.
and the release of many other prisoners for two years (in April 1971 the press spoke of reforms in education coming and soon resurfaced in the political arena characters like José Revueltas
and Heberto Castillo
, jailed two and a half years ago). The students were excited and thought they would have opportunities to return to the streets to demonstrate against the government. The conflict in the University of Nuevo León gave them a reason to do so: At the end of 1970 teachers and university students had a basic law that proposed a joint government in March 1971 and came to Héctor Ulises rectory under the new law. The state government, disagreed, slashed the budget, which angered the university, and forced the University Council to pass a new bill that virtually abolished the autonomy of the institution. The university went on strike and called for solidarity with other universities. The National Autonomous University of Mexico
and National Polytechnic Institute
immediately responded and the students called for a mass demonstration in support of Nuevo León on June 10.
On May 30 the governor of Nuevo León
, Eduardo A. Elizondo Lozano, resigned as part of the settlement of the Ministry of Education
and on June 5 came into force a new organic law that resolved the conflict . Students , nevertheless, decided to march, even if the demands were not clear (the committee coordinating committee control-CoCo-was divided, there were those who thought that the march was useless and would only provoke the government, however, most people supported it, arguing that there were many unresolved problems). It was called from 500 miles of territorial sea to be effective in promised democratic opening Echeverría. It was also an opportunity for the government to show that it would not be as repressive as before. Days before the demonstration, many police vehicles and cars started making regular runs near the Casco de Santo Tomás, one of the IPN's
main campus.
That night army elements guarded the National Palace
and then-President Luis Echeverría
announced an investigation into the killing and said he would punish the guilty. Alfonso Martinez Dominguez
, ruler of the city, and Julio Sanchez Vargas, attorney general, denied that there were Halcones and police chiefs blamed the students to have created extremist groups within his own movement, which ultimately would have attacked their peers. He spent a week until Escobar had to accept that there were Halcones, but they were not involved in the massacre. Martinez Dominguez tendered his resignation on June 15 to Echeverría because he was convinced that the protesters had been provoked, among other things, that the government had an excuse and get rid of him. Still, for years, Martinez Dominguez was given the popular nickname of "Halconzo" referring to the Corpus Thursday Massacre.
That same night Luis Echeverría
announced an investigation into the killing and said he would punish the guilty. Alfonso Martinez Dominguez
, then-Mexico City governor, and Julio Sanchez Vargas, attorney general, denied that the existence of the Halcones and police chiefs blamed the students to have created extremist groups within its own movement, which ultimately would have attacked their peers. He spent a week until Escobar had to accept that the paramilitary unit existed, but he was not involved in the massacre. Martinez Dominguez tendered his resignation on June 15 to Echeverría and he was convinced that the protesters had been provoked and, among other things, that the government had an excuse to get rid of him. With all of this, Martínez Dominguez received the popular motto of "Don Halconzo" (since he was formally known as "Don Alfonso") as an allusion to the massacre.
The terrible result of the demonstration discouraged many students, but also led others to be radicalized, who later formed part of the urban guerrilla organizations. Students in 1971 demanded especially the democratization of education, control of the university budget by students and teachers and that it represented 12% of the GDP, as well as political freedom where workers, peasants, students and intellectuals shall enjoy real democratic freedoms and controlled the social system, quality education for all, especially for farmers and workers, and greater importance and respect for cultural diversity; Strict democratic opening, support for the political union of the workers and to the repression by the government. These and other expressions of opposition years begin to be channeled through Political Reform of 1977, driven by José López Portillo
from the bowels of the scheme and ending with the reason for the guerrillas and the political underground.
to rise again. Their first attack against the students was on October 2, 1969, a year after the Tlatelolco Massacre. Their initial duty (as told to the public, who was not aware of their name nor their real purpose for that matter, by the government) was that there was going to be a police group that ensured the security on the recently inaugurated Metro
. The members of Los Halcones were identified with nicknames and its members were very varied. The youngest came from sports clubs. Other men were policemen, thugs for hire, "porros" (provocateurs created to counter and watch the left-leaning students. After the Halconazo, their number increased exponentially in the UNAM
and IPN
); militaries, which were referred to with the nickname of "maestros" (teachers) or "paisanos" (countrymen), who had at their command dozens of "halcones" and the vast majority were "veterans" of the Tlatelolco massacre; and gang members and criminals. These latter were released from jail after the government agreed to free them under the condition that they formed part of the new shock group with good payments.
whether the crimes committed in this event have expired or even whether they can be judged responsible, because for some the responsibility of Echeverría was never resolved because he was protected by law.
On November 29, 2006, Luis Echeverría Álvarez pleads guilty and for these facts he is put on house arrest, reversing the decision of July 8 stating prescribed for genocide crimes.
In 2009 Luis Echeverria is relieved to find no sufficient evidence against him.
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on June 10, 1971; the day of the Corpus Christi festival
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
. It became the colloquial name for the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
when a student demonstration in support of students of Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
was violently suppressed by a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group for the government called Los Halcones. President Luis Echeverría Álvarez, broke away from the facts, but never clarified the situation was always officially denied. No one was ever blamed for the bloody events, let alone been brought to justice.
Background
From his earliest days in office, President Luis Echeverría Álvarez announced reforms to democracy in the country. Immediately allowed the return of some leaders of the 1968 student movement in exile in ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and the release of many other prisoners for two years (in April 1971 the press spoke of reforms in education coming and soon resurfaced in the political arena characters like José Revueltas
José Revueltas
José Revueltas Sánchez was a Mexican writer, essayist, and political activist. He was part of an important artistic family that included his siblings Silvestre , Fermín and Rosaura .-Life:He was often imprisoned for his political activism, almost from the time he was a boy...
and Heberto Castillo
Heberto Castillo
Heberto Castillo Martínez was a Mexican civil engineer and political activist.Castillo was born in Ixhuatlán de Madero, Veracruz, and received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the National Autonomous University...
, jailed two and a half years ago). The students were excited and thought they would have opportunities to return to the streets to demonstrate against the government. The conflict in the University of Nuevo León gave them a reason to do so: At the end of 1970 teachers and university students had a basic law that proposed a joint government in March 1971 and came to Héctor Ulises rectory under the new law. The state government, disagreed, slashed the budget, which angered the university, and forced the University Council to pass a new bill that virtually abolished the autonomy of the institution. The university went on strike and called for solidarity with other universities. The National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
and National Polytechnic Institute
National Polytechnic Institute
The National Polytechnic Institute colloquially known as the Polytechnic is one of the largest public universities in Mexico with 153.027 students at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels...
immediately responded and the students called for a mass demonstration in support of Nuevo León on June 10.
On May 30 the governor of Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, Eduardo A. Elizondo Lozano, resigned as part of the settlement of the Ministry of Education
Secretaría de Educación Pública
The Secretaría de Educación Pública is a Mexican federal government authority with Cabinet representation and responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of national educational policy and school standards in Mexico.Additionally, it has the following responsibilities:*Creation...
and on June 5 came into force a new organic law that resolved the conflict . Students , nevertheless, decided to march, even if the demands were not clear (the committee coordinating committee control-CoCo-was divided, there were those who thought that the march was useless and would only provoke the government, however, most people supported it, arguing that there were many unresolved problems). It was called from 500 miles of territorial sea to be effective in promised democratic opening Echeverría. It was also an opportunity for the government to show that it would not be as repressive as before. Days before the demonstration, many police vehicles and cars started making regular runs near the Casco de Santo Tomás, one of the IPN's
National Polytechnic Institute
The National Polytechnic Institute colloquially known as the Polytechnic is one of the largest public universities in Mexico with 153.027 students at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels...
main campus.
June 10
The march would start at the Casco de Santo Tomás, then through Carpio and Maestros Avenues to go on the Mexico-Tacuba Causeway to finally go to the Zócalo. The streets leading to the Maestros Avenue were blocked by police officers and riot policemen, who did not allow the students to pass. Also, there were also tankettes parked along Melchor Ocampo avenue, military transports, which were located near the military school and riot police trucks in a huge police contingent at the intersection of the Melchor Ocampo and San Cosme avenues. A shock group trained by the Federal Security Directorate and the CIA, known as "los Halcones", who came in gray trucks and vans and riot trucks brutally attacked students from streets near the Maestros Avenue after the riot police opened their blockade. The shock group first attacked with bamboo and kendo sticks, so they were easily repelled by the students. In a counterattack, Los Halcones attacked the students again, this time, not only with their weapons, but also with high-caliber rifles. Students, meanwhile, tried in vain to hide from the armed youths. The police did not intervene because they had orders to do so and remained a spectator allowing the slaughter. The shooting lasted for several minutes, during which some cars gave logistical support to the paramilitary group, endowing him with weapons and makeshift transports, such as civilian cars, vans, police vehicles and even an ambulance from the Green Cross. The injured were taken to the general hospital Rubén Leñero, but to no avail, as the Halcones reached the hospital and there gave the youngsters, many still in the operating room, the coup de gráce and took the opportunity to scare the inmates. The death toll was close to 120, between them a boy fourteen years old: Jorge Callejas Contreras.That night army elements guarded the National Palace
National Palace (Mexico)
The National Palace, or Palacio Nacional in Spanish), was the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. It is located on Mexico City's main square, the Plaza de la Constitución...
and then-President Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría Álvarez served as President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976.-Early history:Echeverría joined the faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1947 and taught political theory...
announced an investigation into the killing and said he would punish the guilty. Alfonso Martinez Dominguez
Alfonso Martínez Domínguez
Alfonso Martínez Domínguez was a controversial Mexican politician affiliated to the Revolutionary Institutional Party...
, ruler of the city, and Julio Sanchez Vargas, attorney general, denied that there were Halcones and police chiefs blamed the students to have created extremist groups within his own movement, which ultimately would have attacked their peers. He spent a week until Escobar had to accept that there were Halcones, but they were not involved in the massacre. Martinez Dominguez tendered his resignation on June 15 to Echeverría because he was convinced that the protesters had been provoked, among other things, that the government had an excuse and get rid of him. Still, for years, Martinez Dominguez was given the popular nickname of "Halconzo" referring to the Corpus Thursday Massacre.
That same night Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría Álvarez served as President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976.-Early history:Echeverría joined the faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1947 and taught political theory...
announced an investigation into the killing and said he would punish the guilty. Alfonso Martinez Dominguez
Alfonso Martínez Domínguez
Alfonso Martínez Domínguez was a controversial Mexican politician affiliated to the Revolutionary Institutional Party...
, then-Mexico City governor, and Julio Sanchez Vargas, attorney general, denied that the existence of the Halcones and police chiefs blamed the students to have created extremist groups within its own movement, which ultimately would have attacked their peers. He spent a week until Escobar had to accept that the paramilitary unit existed, but he was not involved in the massacre. Martinez Dominguez tendered his resignation on June 15 to Echeverría and he was convinced that the protesters had been provoked and, among other things, that the government had an excuse to get rid of him. With all of this, Martínez Dominguez received the popular motto of "Don Halconzo" (since he was formally known as "Don Alfonso") as an allusion to the massacre.
The terrible result of the demonstration discouraged many students, but also led others to be radicalized, who later formed part of the urban guerrilla organizations. Students in 1971 demanded especially the democratization of education, control of the university budget by students and teachers and that it represented 12% of the GDP, as well as political freedom where workers, peasants, students and intellectuals shall enjoy real democratic freedoms and controlled the social system, quality education for all, especially for farmers and workers, and greater importance and respect for cultural diversity; Strict democratic opening, support for the political union of the workers and to the repression by the government. These and other expressions of opposition years begin to be channeled through Political Reform of 1977, driven by José López Portillo
José López Portillo
José López Portillo y Pacheco was the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982.Born in Mexico City, López Portillo studied Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before beginning his political career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1959.He held several positions in the...
from the bowels of the scheme and ending with the reason for the guerrillas and the political underground.
Los Halcones
Los Halcones (The hawks) was a black-op army group that were trained in the United States, created in late 60's to repress demonstrations and prevent another large popular movement as was the student movement of 1968Tlatelolco massacre
The Tlatelolco massacre, also known as The Night of Tlatelolco , was a government massacre of student and civilian protesters and bystanders that took place during the afternoon and night of October 2, 1968, in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City...
to rise again. Their first attack against the students was on October 2, 1969, a year after the Tlatelolco Massacre. Their initial duty (as told to the public, who was not aware of their name nor their real purpose for that matter, by the government) was that there was going to be a police group that ensured the security on the recently inaugurated Metro
Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro , officially called Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, is a metro system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City...
. The members of Los Halcones were identified with nicknames and its members were very varied. The youngest came from sports clubs. Other men were policemen, thugs for hire, "porros" (provocateurs created to counter and watch the left-leaning students. After the Halconazo, their number increased exponentially in the UNAM
Unam
UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
and IPN
National Polytechnic Institute
The National Polytechnic Institute colloquially known as the Polytechnic is one of the largest public universities in Mexico with 153.027 students at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels...
); militaries, which were referred to with the nickname of "maestros" (teachers) or "paisanos" (countrymen), who had at their command dozens of "halcones" and the vast majority were "veterans" of the Tlatelolco massacre; and gang members and criminals. These latter were released from jail after the government agreed to free them under the condition that they formed part of the new shock group with good payments.
Legal Case
In 2005 is discussed in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
whether the crimes committed in this event have expired or even whether they can be judged responsible, because for some the responsibility of Echeverría was never resolved because he was protected by law.
On November 29, 2006, Luis Echeverría Álvarez pleads guilty and for these facts he is put on house arrest, reversing the decision of July 8 stating prescribed for genocide crimes.
In 2009 Luis Echeverria is relieved to find no sufficient evidence against him.