MEXICO:
Police in the Dock Over
Disco Deaths
By Diego Cevallos
MEXICO CITY (IPS) -
Seventeen days after a
police raid on a
discothèque here that
left nine young people
and three police
officers dead, Mexico
City’s leftwing mayor,
Marcelo Ebrard,
announced sweeping
changes in the
discredited police force
-- including the
dismissal of his chief
of police.
Ebrard, of the Party of
the Democratic
Revolution (PRD), said
that the disco deaths,
attributed to police
bungling, were a huge
issue, and that
resignations and
criminal prosecutions
under way against those
responsible were not
enough. It is time to
build "another kind of
police force," he said.
On Jun. 20, police
officers surrounded the
News Divine nightclub in
a densely populated area
of the capital, where
some 500 young people --
most of them teenagers
--were enjoying
themselves and drinking
beer. The police blocked
the exit in order to
search those present,
which provoked a surge
of panic and a crush in
which 12 people, three
of them under 18, were
suffocated to death.
The police arrested
several young people,
all of whom were
under-age, without
warrants. They were
beaten, made to strip
and photographed as if
for a criminal file. The
police then covered up
evidence of their
actions.
Ebrard, whose popularity
has fallen because of
the scandal, according
to polls, accepted the
resignation of Police
Chief Joel Ortega, and
announced that city
prosecutor Rodolfo Félix
had also submitted his
resignation -- although
he did not say whether
it would be accepted.
The mayor promised a
thorough reform of
police administration
and operational
guidelines, and said
there would be "a new
prosecution service."
Ebrard said that what
happened at News Divine
contravened the ideals
and principles of the
opposition PRD, which
has governed the Mexican
capital since 1997.
Hours before Ebrard’s
announcements, a report
by the Mexico City Human
Rights Commission
accused the police and
prosecution services --
headed by Ortega and
Félix -- of being
responsible for the News
Divine tragedy, because
the operation was badly
planned, even more badly
executed, and marred by
abuse of authority.
The Commission’s
investigation found that
the police were carrying
out a crackdown on
beer-drinking
youngsters. It is
illegal too sell alcohol
to persons under 18 in
Mexico, but many bar and
nightclub owners ignore
the law. On the
afternoon in question,
high school students
were celebrating the end
of the school year.
The report said that the
investigations into the
matter were biased with
intent to blame the
owners of the disco for
the tragedy. Authorities
granted a license
illegally to the disco
in order to cover up
police responsibility.
The head of the
Commission, Emilio
Álvarez, said that the
facts reflect serious
failings on the part of
public security
institutions, which "do
not put human rights at
the centre of their
actions."
The events "have
generated a great deal
of indignation, fury and
impotence, and are an
example of the
deterioration of the
institutions," because
the personal dignity of
children under 18 was
degraded and violated,
as well as lives being
senselessly cut short,
Álvarez said.
Human Rights Commission
investigators and
relatives of the victims
reported that over the
past few days they had
received threats because
they were insisting that
the truth be brought to
light.
The capital city
government has been
under heavy pressure and
criticism from
politicians and
observers, and many
people have demanded the
resignations of the
parties responsible.
The deaths at News
Divine have further
discredited the
capital’s police force,
already suffering from
low prestige. Opinion
polls show that the city
police rank close to the
bottom of the list in
public support. Police
officers do not inspire
confidence and, in fact,
cause fear, according to
interviewees.
In the capital city
district, an area of
1,479 square kilometres,
there are over 75,000
police officers divided
into different corps.
One-third of them have
not finished secondary
education, and a similar
proportion have serious
obesity problems.
It is not yet clear what
changes Ebrard will
make, nor what charges
may be brought against
Ortega and Félix, who
were not involved in
planning the operation
and were not present on
the scene, although they
bear institutional
responsibility.
At present there are 41
people facing criminal
charges, 39 of whom are
officials or police.
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