Think Mexican

10/03/2023

The tragic event involving four African Americans in Matamoros, Mexico has given rise to a number of theories and false narratives. One such theory suggests that the group was mistaken for Haitian drug smugglers by the Gulf Cartel. However, this is unlikely given the power dynamics in the region. A more plausible explanation is that the driver of the minivan panicked when approached by heavily-armed cartel members and attempted to flee, which led to a violent response from the cartel.

As a security expert pointed out, "[I]t sounds like the cartels had set up a checkpoint…that you had to go through them. And it sounds like the van tried to run past that. And that's when the cartels opened fire."

The group had entered Matamoros and was trying to locate a medical clinic but got lost and struggled to communicate with the office due to poor cellphone signal. They may have stopped to ask for directions or make a purchase at a pharmacy before encountering the cartel in the streets of Matamoros.

However, many questions remain unanswered, such as what happened in the two and a half hours before the four were shot at. Did they stop and get out of their vehicle to ask for directions or make a purchase at a pharmacy?

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers using this incident to bang the war drum. A Texas legislator proposed a bill that would give US authorities the right to enter Mexican territory as part of an assault on cartels, a proposal that would trample Mexican sovereignty. Senator Lindsey Graham suggested classifying Mexico's drug cartels as "foreign terrorist groups," which would set the stage for direct intervention in Mexico by US forces.

Many in Matamoros are feeling indignant with Mexico’s response to the disappearance of Mexican citizens. Volunteer search teams are forced to walk the deserts of northern Mexico with iron rods and shovels, looking for clandestine graves where the bodies of their relatives may have been buried.

As one volunteer search team member expressed, "we feel complete indignation, desperation, anguish, impotence and grief" at the authorities' failure to act when Mexican families suffer the disappearance of a relative.

04/08/2019

Shooter took his orders from Donald Trump. His manifesto echoes Trump’s language, speaks of an “invasion.” He travelled all the way from Dallas to the border at El Paso to target Mexicans. Make no mistake: TRUMP IS RESPONSIBLE for the El Paso Shooting.

03/10/2018

Protest art from the Mexican Student Movement of 1968

via Gráfica del 68

03/10/2018

50 Years On, Tlatelolco Survivors Continue the Fight for Truth and Justice

Today, October 2nd, marks 50 years since the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968. In commemoration, thousands marched throughout Mexico. ‬

‪After a long summer of protests, students insisted on having their demands met and gathered at the Plaza de Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco in an act of defiance days before the Mexico City 1968 Olympics Games were to be inaugurated.‬

The images of massacred students remains an open wound for millions who lived through this repressive era. For survivors who continue to fight for justice for their fallen comrades, Tlatelolco is hallowed ground. For all Mexicans who want to see a Mexico of peace and justice, October 2nd is a date we must never forget.

To learn more about the Massacre or Tlatelolco and the Mexican Student Movement of 1968, visit our blog: https://thinkmexican.tumblr.com/post/178685306967/

Photo credit: Alejandro Meléndez

14/09/2018

: 1968-2018

On this day (Sept. 13) in 1968, thousands of Mexican students took to the streets in an act of defiance, in protest of government repression.

50 years later, the students of Mexico are still fighting government repression, and for peace and justice.

18/07/2018

“Whatever is necessary to restore peace in this country.” - Olga Sanchez Cordero ‬

Amnesty, reparations, truth commission, legalization being proposed to lower Mexico violence as part of ‘transitional justice’ plan

Mexico's incoming president has granted his interior minister "carte blanche" to consider legalizing drugs. The new Mexican government has promised to respond to record-high violence with a package of judicial reforms.

08/07/2018

Rodolfo Rodriguez was the victim of an anti-Mexican hate attack this past Wednesday. The 92-year-old grandfather was brutally beaten while going for a walk in South Los Angeles. Please consider contributing to his medical relief fund.

Donate at the link below.

On July 4th at around 7pm, my grandfather Rodolfo Rodriguez whose 92 years of age was going for his daily walk around the block when he was assaulted by and African American lady and five other guys. He is doing really bad, has a lot of bruises on his face and a broken cheekbone. El 4 de julio...

21/04/2018

‪This Day in History: In Veracruz on April 21, 1914, Mexican civilians volunteer to fight invading US Army. Credit: Colección Archivo Casasola.

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09/04/2018

Frida Kahlo: Self-portrait on the Border Between Mexico and the United States (1932)

In 1932, Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera, had lived in the United States for almost three years. While Diego was growing accustomed to life in the States, Frida was miserable, and felt increasingly homesick for Mexico.

In “Self-portrait on the Border Between Mexico and the United States,” Frida expresses her feelings toward Gringolandia.

Standing on pedestal wearing a pink dress and white gloves while holding a cigarette and a Mexican flag, Frida paints herself in between the juxtaposed images of Mexico and the United States: Ancient, rich and bright vs. industrial, cold and contaminated.

Frida Kahlo was way ahead of her time. So much so, that more than 80 years later, this painting is still relevant.

Oil on metal, 12 1/2” x 13 3/4”, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Reyero

04/04/2018

“Many Mexicans are again worried about the prospect of fraud in the July election. But Trump administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff , a former head of the US Southern Command, have expressed other concerns. They are worried that López Obrador might win.‪”‬

In less than five months, Mexico will have a presidential election that is described by media commentators as a perilous undertaking. The problem, according to the pundits and the Trump administration, is that the leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador could well be Mexico’s next presiden...

31/03/2018

Cesar Chavez’s Legacy Must Be Re-examined

Will update soon with notes and links. In the meantime, check out this thread we’ve posted on our Twitter account: https://twitter.com/thinkmexican/status/979849576688619520

20/03/2018

Five years later, Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz to be tried for murder of Mexican teen José Antonio Elena Rodríguez.

José Antonio was shot 10 times in the back while in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. He was 16-years-old.

Murder trial for Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz who killed 16-year-old Mexican teenager by firing into Mexico to begin Tuesday in Tucson.

11/03/2018

Mexica New Year festivities earlier today at Emma Prusch Farm Park

10/03/2018

This Day in History: Pancho Villa Attacks Columbus, New Mexico

¡Viva Villa!

This Day in History: Pancho Villa Attacks Columbus, New Mexico In the early morning of March 9, 1916, General Francisco “Pancho” Villa and between 500-1,000 of his cavalry troops invaded the United States, attacking a military camp in the small town of Columbus, New Mexico. In retaliation, on Ma...

09/03/2018

Cuzando fronteras, rompiendo barreras. Mujer bonita es la que lucha. ‬

21/02/2018

“San Gregorio Atlapulco, in Mexico City’s Xochimilco municipality, is the last bastion of the once great chinampa economy. During Aztec times, it functioned as the motor for the sustenance of up to [at least] 1.5 million people in the Valley of Mexico.

“Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Aztecs, is where the Mexica built their pyramids in the Lake of Texcoco. It was intimately integrated with a vast system of agricultural fields, called chinampas. These made up the aggro-industrial complex of what remains one of the world’s largest cities.”

“We could solve the subsistence problem ourselves without asking anything of the government...” says an owner of 12 chinampas. “If things continue like this the chinampa economy will have disappeared completely in 20 years.”

08/02/2018

The number of migrants who died crossing the United States-Mexico border in 2017 remained high, despite a 44 per cent decrease in border apprehensions between 2016 and 2017.

Read Missing Migrants Project report: https://www.iom.int/news/migrant-deaths-remain-high-despite-sharp-fall-us-mexico-border-crossings-2017

28/01/2018

Capturing Mexican Beauty as an Act of Self-Love

Dorian López’s is more than a photo project, it’s a defiant act of self-love.

By capturing the beauty of everyday Mexicans, López’s photos destroy the false and archaic notion that only light-skinned people are pretty.

In MexicanoMX, brown skin, black hair, Indigenous eyes, noses and lips is celebrated — and in doing so, restores for many a positive self-image. And that’s a beautiful thing.

See more photos here: https://thinkmexican.tumblr.com/post/170215522932/