D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
August 2010
Body Counts
Juarez violence escalates, while Palomas enjoys relative peace.
The violence in Juarez still hasn't topped out, despite all efforts to stop it. It's as if the sicarios are in a wild competition to get the highest murder scores at the end of the month, when the Diario de Juarez publishes the number of killings in the city
You wonder at what point the narcos will get tired of inventing new ways of dismembering enemies and conceptualizing ever larger massacres. It must get to you at some point.
The number killed in Juarez since early 2008 will reach 6,000 before the end of July, according to librarian Molly Molloy at NMSU, who runs an online border news service. Last year the total count for Juarez was 2,754 violent deaths, and it looks as if this year's count could surpass that. As of July 21, she counts 1,600 killings for 2010 — a nice round figure, but that's her exact number.
On Feb. 17, President Felipe Caldern announced in Juarez that he would replace the soldiers who were sent last year to save Juarez — and who failed miserably — with a new "purged" Federal Police force.
This may have raised a few faint hopes in the city, because it was argued even by human-rights advocates that police would be better trained than soldiers to do what was needed. But these hopes soon fell to the ground. The Federal Police are carrying out the same robbery, extortions, rapes, false arrests and so forth that soldiers were guilty of.
For example, on July 5 the Diario reported that 30 armed, hooded Federal Police broke into a boardinghouse in Juarez, shoved the manager into a room and stole everything they could, down to plastic spoons and a sheet. Human-rights advocates were sent to investigate. It's an appalling situation but it's true.
The Diario reporters are doing an excellent job reporting abuses of authorities, besides the general work of reporting the drug war. They're being courageous, straightforward and professional. I wonder if there's a prize out there that belongs to them.
In Palomas, in contrast, the murder rate has been going down each year from a high in 2008. I said in the last issue that there were about 70 killings in 2008 and 40 in 2009, but if anything I would guess there were more.
At this point in time there are several different estimates for this year, but everyone agrees that it's the quietest it's been in over two years.
Some say only five or six people have been killed; another person estimated 15 or 16 (but suspects some of these reports may have been rumors). One person even says that no one has been killed in Palomas this year, but that some Palomas residents have been killed in Juarez or Ascension and sent back to be buried.
I've never made an exhaustive or definitive investigation of the numbers of killings in Palomas because I don't have the money or time, and because it's a bit on the dangerous side to do this. I've just made vague averages of the estimates I hear from several sources. I don't believe a single source has exact figures, including the Ministerio Publico, which keeps an official list of murder cases but admits there are people who are afraid to report murders of family members.
Residents are glad for the relative peace in Palomas. But there are still family members of victims of violence who are afraid right now.
I've heard someone with a murdered family member tell how they get scared when night falls. (I know something of what that's like, from a time I was being harassed.) These people are afraid to have anything written about them that might identify them. This makes it difficult for a writer who wants to create sympathy for them.
I've heard there are some people in Palomas who rarely leave their houses. Other people feel much freer, but don't go out at night. There's a whole range of reactions.
There were elections in Palomas on July 4 for state governor, municipal president and other officials. In a few months, the town will be gearing up for the local mayoral elections on Nov. 10. But no matter who wins, the mayor is not likely to have much of an effect on the level of violence in the town. The narcos tend to operate as a law unto themselves, and the mayor in Palomas has never had much power, anyway.
The current mayor, Maria Lopez, will not run again because of election regulations. She hopes to run again in three years.
If one thing can be said without taking sides politically, Maria has been having the time of her life as mayor. She's done her job happily and with poise, keeping her sense of principal intact. This is true despite the tragic origins of her mayoral career, when she courageously did her duty and replaced Tanis Garcia after he was assassinated in October. I've been so glad to know her.
The goat project of Our Lady of Palomas, in Columbus, is beginning to take off. It's even getting support from the international Heifer Project. Ten goats have been tentatively donated, and the protocol is being worked out for getting them across the border at Santa Teresa. Our Lady is giving goats to poor Palomas families because goats are a great sustainable food source.
By the way, if you've been to Palomas recently, you've probably seen men with shovels and hoes working around the rubble on the sidewalks. They're not doing repairs. What happened is that some of the Food Project recipients (through the Palomas City Hall) got together and offered to clean the streets. They said they didn't want to be receiving something without giving anything in return.
Here is something to write down on your calendar: There's going to be a good event on August 7-8 at AIR Coffee in Bayard. It was put together by La Cooperativa de la Frontera, who¹ll be selling their handmade products from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Speakers will be on hand, including Mayor Maria Lopez of Palomas, Chad Stinard of Our Lady of Palomas, co-op organizers and maybe members, not to mention myself. There will also be some live Mexican music.
To help the people of Palomas, you can send a tax-deductible donation to Our Lady of Palomas/Hunger Project, POB 622, Columbus, NM 88029.
Borderlines columnist Marjorie Lilly lives in Deming.