yosoy one three two



eric e of #yosoy132 speaks with i.t.a. about the mexican protest movement seeking democratic change.


the july first elections resulted in a win for the institutional revolutionary party (pri) with enrique pena nieto voted in as president-elect. this sees a return to power for the pri who had previously ruled mexico for seventy years prior to two thousand. this is exactly what #yosoy132 was against. what do you think will be the implications for mexico with a return of the pri?

Actually very little will change from the situation in Mexico for the last six or twelve years. The PAN economically continued the same privatization plan as the PRI had implemented to coincide with NAFTA and was even more conservative socially than the PRI. The so called "New PRI" is simply a new generation of the same mafia repackaged with collaboration from the most important media power in Latin America, Televisa.

what are the major criticisms that #yosoy132 has against the pri whilst they were in power in the past?

Corruption and repression. In socio-political terms political cronyism in the old PRI Mexico was defined by a narrow nationalistic policy predicated on independence from the influence of the United States supported on the shoulders of an underpaid but productive working class that was kept in line with massive and violent repression with the lack of useful education, poverty and state violence as in the case of the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968.

what was the general reaction of #yosoy132 and its supporters to the election results?

Disgust, indignation, rejection and anger.

on may eleventh, two thousand and twelve, pena nieto held a campaign event at the ibero-american university. attendees broke out in protest against pena nieto. can you outline the events that took place on this day?

The Ibero is an elite university attended by students destined for elite service and leadership in the political and economic life of Mexico. During the question answer period Pena Nieto was asked about his orders for police action in the case of the town of Atenco, in Mexico State, while Pena Nieto was govener of the same state. Pena Nieto neither demonstrated regret, sympathy or even remorse for the events that took place and furthermore justified his decisions as the correct ones. The students loudly rejected this answer and Pena Nieto was shouted down and forced to leave. During his departure he hid in the mens room which has been source material for countless jokes.

the protest at the ibero-american university centred around the two thousand and six atenco incident when pena nieto was the governor of the state of mexico. what transpired during this incident and why were the students impelled to protest about it six years later?

In 2006 Pena Nieto ordered the police to force 60 flower vendors to relocate which resulted in a police riot causing the death of two townspeople and the mass rape of about 25 women who had been arbitrarily arrested during the police action. The police rampaged for two days turning an otherwise peaceful town into a war zone. Not one police officer has been charged even though the documentation of the event by video is widely available on the internet and clearly shows out of control police committing massive human rights abuses. The idea that the man who gave the order for the police to attack, Pena Nieto, could become president simply terrified many people, including the idealistic youth of the country's elites.

after the day of protest at the ibero-american university the pri politicians and the media dismissed the student protesters as hired stand-ins for the parties that were contending the pri in the coming elections. what was the students’ reaction to this claim?

131 students created a youtube video in which they displayed their student ID's and proclaimed their independence from any political party, admitted their participation in the events of the day and their opposition to Pena Nieto. The video immediately went viral and with days the movement, #YoSoy132, was spontaneously born.

how did the movement gain momentum from this point on?

The idealism was infectious and it seemed like the old system might be on the verge of collapse. Everyone was looking for this truly grassroots movement to be the weight that finally forced Mexico to evolve its corrupt organizational structures and become a more fair society.

#yosoy132 at its impetus was also concerned with the media coverage of the elections which was perceived as biased towards pena nieto. televisa and tv azteca were the outlets that the protests focused upon. can you describe what the media is like in mexico and why it is necessary to bring changes to the current situation?

TV and radio in Mexico have an even greater power over the views and habits of the people than is common in the USA or Europe because unfortunately the educational system in Mexico does nothing to encourage people to read and there remains a large part of the society that is illiterate. TV in Mexico is a sophisticated combination of social control and distraction that uses the most modern techniques on a very naive population. the results are compliance and an ever increasing trend towards consumerism.

how would #yosoy132 like to see the media change in mexico?

The democratization of the media is a central demand of YoSoy132.

on may twenty third, two thousand and twelve, #yosoy132 released their manifesto whilst a statement on their general principles was released on august tenth. could you briefly outline the stance that the movement takes in these documents?

Opposition the Pena Nieto and the PRI. Democratization of the Media. No alliance or affiliation with any political party. The exclusive use of non violent means of protest and the encouragement of artistic and creative forms or political protest.

there were reports that aleph jimenez rodriguez, a spokesman for #yosoy132, was missing yet it was then found that he had actually fled for his life as he was being harassed. this incident was attributed to the pri along with reports of other threats and police brutality made towards members of the movement. could you comment on these incident?

Aleph and others have been beaten, arrested and abused, including members of YoSoy#132 and other independent social movements.

ultimately how would #yosoy132 like to see mexican society change?

An end to media imposed ignorance and a truly egalitarian society with equal opportunity to prosper.

is #yosoy132 affiliated with other movements across the globe and if so which ones?

Yosoy132 has become an international movement with cells in many different countries. I believe there is a sense of camaraderie with social justice movements everywhere.

lastly, how has the movement progressed since the election results? do #yosoy132 see themselves as an ongoing movement and what is seen as the next moves for the group?

With the imposition of Pena Nieto, the spurious approval of his election by the constitutional agencies tasked with verification and finally the inauguration there is a certain sense of frustration. Although there are many highly dedicated participants there is less a sense of mass movement now as instead a sense of how to organize resistance during this six year term and being prepared in advance to be a larger obstacle to the next election. I also believe that it is the international cells of #YoSoy132 that are inspiring some level of continued enthusiasm within Mexico. Many of the international cells are comprised of people who have emigrated from Mexico, legally and illegally, but who in most cases view themselves as social and political exiles. Ricardo Flores Magon, the exiled anarchist active during the time of the last Mexican Revolution who was assassinated by the old Mexican government, in Los Angeles, is frequently discussed as the inspiration for the exile group and this citation carries great weight within Mexico as Flores Magon is considered of nearly the same historical stature as Zapata...

gracias for taking the time to speak to us. a shout out of solidarity to you from powder.

eric e is a north american writer, expert in indigenous languages, explorer, professional conservationist, zapatista and #132 with twenty eight years travel and study experience in mexico.