Headlines, Human Rights, Latin America & the Caribbean

MEXICO: Police in the Dock Over Disco Deaths

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, Jul 10 2008 (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.