by APC APC
#NoMasSangre was among Twitter’s trending topics for several weeks.551
The Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad (Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity) is an important initiative in Mexico. Poet and journalist Javier Sicilia has driven this movement in the wake of the murder of seven youths, including his son, in the state of Morelos in April 2011. To date the movement has organised a series of marches, amongst other activities. The Civic Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity, also known as the “Caravan of Consolation”, is of particular importance to the movement. It began its journey from Cuernavaca on 4 June from Cuernavaca, travelling through several of the cities hardest hit by violence in Mexico, and heading towards Ciudad Juárez. The caravan travelled over 3,000 kilometres. On Twitter, the hashtag #marchanacional became a trending topic for weeks.552
Hundreds of testimonies and demands for the federal government to end the war have been gathered at national marches. Dozens of harrowing testimonies and calls for the state’s strategy to change have been launched. One speaker at one of the first Movimiento por la Paz marches stated: “These 40,000 deaths553 belong to us all, they are our dead. There can be no distinction between the deaths of drug dealers, assassins, soldiers and citizens.”554
Local marches – often spontaneous – have been convened with the help of the internet. This was the case in Ciudad Juárez where a peace protest following a visit to the city by President Calderón was organised through social networking.555 A similar protest happened in Guadalajara within hours of several violent incidents by criminals. Approximately 700 people spontaneously responded to the call for action put out by young people on social networks.556
Groups of Mexicans and sympathisers from the Americas, Asia and Europe have created the Red Global por la Paz en México (Global Network for Peace in Mexico).557 They have organised many different initiatives across the world, some using information and communications technologies (ICTs), including the following: a virtual demonstration with pro-peace images organised in Seoul called “Sí a la Paz” (Yes to Peace); “1,000 Cranes for Peace in Mexico”, an initiative in Tokyo which dedicated 1,000 origami cranes to heal Mexico; “Ephemeral Ciudad Juárez”, set up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and consisting of a clothesline pegged with empty envelopes addressed to President Calderón with the names of victims of violence in Mexico as the senders; and “No More Bloodshed”, a conference organised in Corcovado de Rio in Brazil, which called for a review of international policies on drug use and drug trafficking.558
Action steps
The importance of the internet can be felt in a society constantly threatened by violence. In the case of the “war on drugs” in Mexico, ICTs can be a valuable way to:
Guarantee citizens’ right to monitor cases involving victims of the war.
Facilitate the participation of citizen groups in providing coverage of the judicial processes brought by the victims of violence.
Support meetings of those who have been victims in the war.
Promote ways for citizen representation, such as referendums.
Monitor and follow up on government security initiatives.
Promote education and culture instead of violence.
In general, the internet can be used to support the participation of citizens and their mobilisation in efforts aimed at changing the state strategy in combating crime in the country.
More than ever the rights to access to information, free expression and the protection of personal data are critical in Mexico. The protection of journalists must also be guaranteed. Mexican society has much still to do.
MOROCCO
The internet revolution in the Arab region paves the way to democracy
DiploFoundation
Hanane Boujemi
www.diplomacy.edu