About Secret History

Commentary on Latin America.
Mostly about Mexico - but not always.
Designed to encourage readers to learn about
the apparently "secret history" of 500 million people
spread across two continents
- but not always.
You can always count on a little snark.

Monday, December 8, 2008

El Signo De La Muerte


The Houston Chronicle reported on Saturday that the reinstatement of the death penalty in Mexico is unlikely to get the 2/3 majority needed to reinstate the death penalty there. And while I felt a little more sympathy for Benito Juarez last week, the statement by the La Arquidiócesis Primada de México has gone a long way to get me back on the path. I consistently battle to get my students to see Mexico as a nation that has aspects of political and international leadership that the United States could learn from. But, as the Catholics are putting it, the death penalty is reinstated, we are looking at nothing more than “un instrumento más para la injusticia humana”.
On the other hand, I'd certainly like to see more done by the Catholic Church on the LOCAL level to deny known narcotraficantes the ability to partake in the sacraments as well as participate in the community festivals that help gain them local respect and honor. While some movement was made on that front in the 1990s, I'm not sure much has been done since the response to the killing of Posadas Ocampo.

And my apologies to the Cantinflas fans for the choice of title....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Bishop of Mazatlan recently published a (sorry, don't know the official name) blanket excommunication on hitmen, which is something of a start. He's also instructed the priests to not allow gangsters elaborate funerals.

Two things that may make this ineffective. "Ordinary decent" narcotrafficantes are often just poor rural people taking the only job available that will put food on the family table and the big guys aren't much deterred by the official church, being "Jesus Malverdistas" with their own informal clergy. Still, it's a start.