Huicholes angered by Pan American Games mascot
Upset by the commercialization and trivialization of their culture and religion, indigenous Huicholes from northern Jalisco have denounced the use of a deer named “Huichi” as a mascot for the upcoming Pan American Games.
Alongside peyote and maize, the deer is one of the Huicholes’ most sacred religious symbols. Huichole representatives Antonio Garcia and Olegario Mejia said they “are not against the Pan American Games,” but denounced the “lack of respect” shown to their people by organizers who declined to consult them before adopting the symbol.
Dr. Paul Liffman, researcher at the Center for Anthropological Studies at El Colegio de Michoacan, said it was a “disrespectful gesture,” akin to using the image of Jesus Christ or Buddha to promote a sporting event.
The Huicholes also complained about police treatment of indigenous people living in Guadalajara ahead of the games. Various civic organizations have spoken out against what they consider a program of “social cleansing,” to “remove” the stray population and indigenous vendors from Guadalajara’s historic center before the Pan American Games.
The Huichol spokesperson alleged that on July 28 municipal police violently evicted indigenous vendors who were selling their products and handicrafts in the area known as Devil’s Alley, next to the Teatro Degollado.
“This is how they treat us, and it’s not the first time this has happened,” said the representative. “Although we asked the Guadalajara city council and the organizers to give us an opportunity to also benefit from the Pan American Games, they have ignored us.”
‘Terrorist’ Tweeters freed
Two people charged with terrorism for posting false rumors on social networking site Twitter were released from jail in Veracruz Wednesday.
Maria de Jesus Bravo and Gilberto Martinez Vera walked out of prison to cheering supporters after authorities dropped the charges against them.
“Thank God that freedom of expression won,” said Bravo, a local journalist and radio commentator. She and math teacher Martinez spent almost a month in jail for “tweeting” about a supposed attack on a primary school by drug gangs.
Local authorities charged the pair with terrorism and sabotage, arguing that their messages had caused panic among frantic parents who dashed to the school to rescue their children.
Human rights groups protested the case, causing embarrassment for Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte, who passed a new law on Tuesday allowing the prosecution of rumormongers on the lesser charge of disturbing the peace. This paved the way for Bravo and Martinez’s release.
The case has also emphasized Mexico’s increasing reliance on social media networks for real-time information on violence in their hometowns. Although they often spread false rumor, microblogging sites could potentially fill the void left by traditional news sources that are increasingly being silenced by intimidation or bribes.
This trend has not gone unnoticed by the criminals. Only last week the bodies of two young people were found hanging from a bridge in Nuevo Laredo in retaliation for using Twitter to report a crime. The killers left a message warning “This is going to happen to all of those posting silly things on the internet.”
Governor bows out of presidential race
Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez announced Thursday that he will not seek the National Action Party (PAN) nomination for next year’s presidential election, clearing the path for a race between three Mexico City-based candidates.
Accompanied by PAN National President Gustavo Madero, Gonzalez acknowledged that he was committed to next months’s Pan American Games and would not have been able to focus on political campaigning until after the event. Entering the internal contest with a delay of 50 days would have been a “decisive” disadvantage, he said.
Gonzalez said he will not seek a position as a federal congressman or senator because “I do not want to put together a political career just to make money for myself.”
With Gonzalez having left the race, the three remaining candidates are federal legislator Josefina Vazquez Mota, former Treasury Secretary Ernesto Cordero Arroyo and Senator Santiago Creel Miranda. Most polls place Vazquez with a considerable lead over her two male rivals.
The PAN leadership had previously expressed a desire for just three candidates so as not to complicate the contest. Trailing someway behind his competitors in the polls, Gonzalez was the obvious candidate to drop out of the race.
Gonzalez had previously stated on several occasions that he was keen to enter the race, and played up the fact that he was the only one of the potential candidates to have actually won an election against the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
His announcement may also raise speculation that in return for his cooperation the party has offered Gonzalez a significant role in the new government, should the PAN win the election.
Gonzalez has another 15 months of his term to run. State elections will be held in July next year, at the same time as the presidential elections. Under Mexican law he is unable to run for a second term.
