Mexico: Information on violence among political parties and their activists, 1994-95

Please find attached several documents that describe conflicts and violent incidents among political parties in Mexico.

One of the attached documents discusses organized smuggling, particularly of illicit drugs, and thus adds to the information provided in Response to Information Request MEX20857.E of 5 June 1995 (Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs Fall 1992, 99-106). The document describes the kinship and political links of drug-trafficking organizations, and explains that conflicts and violence involving political parties may in some cases be drug and crime-related. Page 100, for example, reports on the apparent limits of tolerance by central authorities on the power wielded by drug producers and traffickers who become "political gangsters" that may, among other things, support opposition parties and radical movements.

Further to the information provided in Response to Information Request MEX20857.E, the attached document states that "there are estimated to be about 200 drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. Nevertheless, only a half dozen or so -all 'poly-drug' operations- have been considered major" (ibid., 103). Finally, the report states that "local politics and economics, especially in states like Guerrero and Michoacán, often turned out to be deeply intertwined with drug production and trafficking," and names the three major political parties as having leaders or partisans accused of ties to the drug trade (ibid.). Please consult the attached document for additional information.

The attached chapter on political parties and elections of Mexico: A Country Guide (1993) provides a detailed account of intra- and inter-party conflicts, although few references to violence are included in the text.

The attached excerpts from Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico (May 1995) provide information on violence directed against political activists, particularly members of opposition groups.

One of the attachments from Latinamerica Press discusses violence alleged by activists of the PRD and PAN parties (27 May 1993, 3). The other Latinamerica Press articles discuss divisions within the ruling PRI party that have apparently resulted in violence (9 Mar. 1995, 2) and other issues.

Additional articles referring to violence involving political party activists can be found among the attached documents listed below.

A package of information prepared by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Resource Information Center, available at your Regional Documentation Centre, also provides several articles on violence related to political parties (Information Packet Series-Mexico: Elections and Political Violence Mar. 1994).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). March 1994. Information Packet Series-Mexico: Elections and Political Violence. Washington, DC: INS Resource Information Center.

Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs [Miami]. Fall 1992. Vol. 34, No. 3. Peter Reuter and David Ronfeldt. "Quest for Integrity: The Mexican-US Drug Issue in the 1980s."

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 9 March 1995. John Ross. "Internal War Tearing PRI Apart."

_____. 27 May 1993. John Ross. "Ruling Opens Door to Mexican Asylum Seekers."

Mexico: A Country Guide. 1993. Edited by Tom Barry. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: The Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center.

Reding, Andrew. May 1995. Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico. New York: World Policy Institute.

Attachments

Dallas Morning News. 30 July 1994. Christine MacDonald. "High Hopes, Violence Fuel Interest in Mexico's Presidential Election." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 18-31 July 1994, pp. 2-3)

Houston Chronicle. 2 December 1994. Laurence Iliff. "Riot Police Cool Zedillo Protesters." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 21 Nov.-4 Dec. 1994, p. 5)

_____. 23 July 1994. Jo Ann Zuñiga. "Mexican Asylum Claims Increase Tenfold in Year." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 18-31 July 1994, pp. 3-4)

InterPress Service (IPS). 7 February 1995. "Senator's Personal Bodyguards Dismissed After Attempt on His Life." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 30 Jan.-12 Feb. 1995, pp. 10-11)

_____. 9 June 1994. Teresa Garza. "Candidate Dies After Hit and Run." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 6-19 June 1994, p. 2)

Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs [Miami]. Fall 1992. Vol. 34, No. 3. Peter Reuter and David Ronfeldt. "Quest for Integrity: The Mexican-US Drug Issue in the 1980s," 99-106.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 9 March 1995. John Ross. "Internal War Tearing PRI Apart," p. 2.

_____. 8 September 1994. John Ross. "Left Steamrolled by PRI Machine," p. 3.

_____. 31 March 1994. "Killing Throws Mexican Politics Into Chaos," pp. 1-2.

_____. 27 May 1993. John Ross. "Ruling Opens Door to Mexican Asylum Seekers," p. 3.

Mexico: A Country Guide. 1993. Edited by Tom Barry. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: The Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center, pp. 24-52.

New York Times. 12 June 1994. Anthony DePalma. "Mexicans Bring Fear to the Ballot Box." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 6-19 June 1994, pp. 2-3)

Reding, Andrew. May 1995. Democracy and Human Rights in Mexico. New York: World Policy Institute, pp. 31-39.

San Antonio Express-News [San Antonio, Tex.]. 29 May 1994. "12 Injured in Fighting at Party Headquarters." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 23 May-5 June 1994, p. 2)

_____. 23 December 1993. "Police Injured in Clash Over Alleged Vote Fraud." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 20 Dec. 1993-2 Jan. 1994, p. 11)