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Friday, May 16, 2014

Dr. Mireles, the bad guy

Proceso (5-14-2014)  By Jose Gil Olmos Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat                [This is a good overview by Jose Gil Olmos. -- un vato]

MEXICO, D.F., (apro).- One of the pillars that supported the citizen self-defense groups from the time they were created on Februry 24, 2013, in the Michoacan Tierra Caliente (Hot Country), was their autonomy from the state and federal governments. This gave the movement legitimacy and credibility, even though their use of weapons could have been considered unlawful.

For over a year, they were seen in many parts of the country -- those with the same problems of violence and insecurity -- as the most legitimate response by a society fed up with the abuses by organized crime and its government accomplices, the military and police forces that fostered an environment of mistrust for any person who dared denounce them.

During the months when they operated free from the burden of spotlights or the temptations of power, money and political office, the "autodefensas" did what the governments of Felipe Calderon and Enrique Pena Nieto could not: wrest Michoacan from the grip of the Caballeros Templarios. 

With weapons in their hands, first the Tierra Caliente residents, then the coastal people and the Purepechas advanced through areas that were under the yoke of the Templarios. They seized 24 municipalities from their domain and were able to establish in each their own self defense groups and even citizen councils which took the place of mayors or elected councils. 

Jose Manuel Mireles, a doctor from Tepalcatepec with a political history distant from the PRI's, became the focus of media attention with his articulate and challenging discourse that clashed with the official version. His tall, gangly figure, his bushy mustache, the hat, these became emblematic of the self defense forces that kept their distance from the federal government that first year.

As time passed, the government co-opted several of the self defense forces representatives, who since January were the protagonists in every advance made against the towns that were under the control of the Templario criminals. 

On January 4, Mireles suffered an airplane accident and, during his absence, federal commissioner Alfredo Castillo asked that another spokesman be named for the autodefensas. From that moment on, Estanislao Beltran, "Papa Pitufo", a lemon grower from Buenavista Tomatlan, climbed up on the stage.

Without a leadership presence or a political voice independent from the government's, Estanislao Beltran turned out to be more comfortable than Mireles in the government's plans to eliminate the autodefensas, which by that time had become an icon for other groups dissatisfied with the government's inability and ineptitude in dealing with organized crime.

On February 24, upon his return to Tepalcatepec and after his convalescence from the airplane accident, Mireles retook the streets and, among his peers in the autodefensas, assumed not just the role of spokesman, but was also designated general coordinator of the citizen self defense groups. With this designation, he became the "pebble in the shoe" of the Pena Nieto PRI government.

For weeks, Castillo met with the autodefensas without including Mireles. "Papa Pitufo", Alberto Gutierrez, "El Comandante Cinco", Nicolas Sierra, leader of the "Los Viagras" gang, and others would attend the meetings, in which the commissioner obtained the agreement for the disarmament and demobilization of the autodefensas after May 10.    

Early in April, Mireles objected not being included in the meetings, and, after a series of mobilizations in several Tierra Caliente municipalities and Purepecha towns, he was invited to the subsequent meetings, where he was the only dissident voice against the plans by the federal government to eliminate the autodefensas. In addition, he denounced the enrichment of some of his fellow members and their ties to organized crime groups.

For the Pena Nieto government, Mireles' presence became increasingly bothersome, and before the day for the disarmament came about, a strategy was deployed to nullify and discredit him, taking advantage of the leader of the autodefensas' own weaknesses.

"Papa Pitufo" and "El Comandante Cinco", who frequently acted as Castillo's messengers, were the peons used in the government's strategy: they accused Mireles of mental deficiency, of profiting from the movement, of the deaths of five young men in a confrontation in Caleta de Campos; the only accusation lacking was that he was also a Templario.

They betrayed him despite the fact that they were companions in the same cause. The commissioner sealed the strategy by stating that Mireles would be investigated for the death of the young men, in addition to confirming that he was no longer the intermediary with the autodefensas.

Today, the Michoacan autodefensas movement has ceased to exist in the Tierra Caliente. There are still some operating in the Costa and Purepecha areas, along with patrols and community police ("policias comunitarias"). The government turned the movement into a media phenomenon and nullified it by converting it into a rural force under the command of the State Public Safety Secretariat (SSP), the same agency that was infiltrated by organized crime.

Maybe the federal government is betting that, with the nullification of Mireles's leadership, it will be able to control the Michoacan autodefensas movement and achieve the pacification in the state.

However, it is not taking into consideration that there are already municipalities like Los Reyes, Periban, Tocumbo, Tinguindin and Cotija which have rejected submission (to the government) and instead have expressed their support for the doctor from Tepalcatepec.

They have also pointed out that there exists a plan to form a national autodefensas movement that intends to channel the social dissatisfaction expressed throughout the country with the government's inability to smother organized crime.

The nullification of Mireles's leadership and the institutionalization of the autodefensas has not put an end to the problem of organized crime in Michoacan, nor has the arrest of the Templario leaders and the imprisonment of certain government officials, such as interim governor Jesus Reyna.

Worse, groups that previously were present in the state, such as the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, have returned, and the social structure that for so many years supported the Templarios remains intact. Maybe there has been a pause in the violence, but the problem has by no means been resolved.
clLick to enlarge document

Source: www.proceso.com.mx/?p=372255   

33 comments:

  1. The Smurf is a traitor... his own looks betray him... and he's one ugly fool.

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  2. One of the best summaries and analysis of recent events in Michoacan that I have read.

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  3. @4:35 hey mil mascaras! you woke up 'dis mornin', good luck cleanin' up your name today...
    atentamente: your nemesis...

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  4. ----POLLY WANTS CRACKERS, AND JUDAS WANTS MONEY...
    and nobody will get on their way that is not ready to pay the ultimate price, the redeemers always get demonized and then crucified.
    --the people have spoken time and again, the government only listens to the kaching from their cash registers...
    --the people need to make it clear to the government where they stand, and that weapons or no weapons, they support their movement and that nobody will take that from them, no matter how much lip service the government temporarily offers them, and no matter how many judases they buy away from them, the alegations of brain damage, are only part of demonizing Dr Mireles, but the malinchista/chaquetero chapulines got worse brain damage from seeing the "opportunity" to cash away from the AD by selling out to el castillo de cagada and co. and believing that everybody MUST follow their lead because they got "theirs"...

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  5. un vato. you did an excellent translation as usual, but another website that I read that translates articles used the title "The ill-fated Dr. Mireles" instead of "the bad guy". I know the orig. Spanish said "el malo", but in the context of the article, IMO, "the ill-fated Dr. Mireles" might be a better title.

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  6. " and the social structure that for so many years supported the Templarios remains intact "

    Isn't it ironic and a sad indictment of human folly that the only one who held on to his and the AD movements ideals is the one who the government is now trying to ostracize and discredit.Dr Mireles is not superman,just a man,but,a decent man.....The kind of man governments cant control .

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  7. Excellent article, but frustrating. How could a leader of viagras cartel sign the document that axed Mireles and that not be made headlines?

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  8. yesterday on Univision, Mireles was featured and on the broadcast he made a plea to Pena Nieto. In the plea, he asked the Mexican president to not have him assassinated. the show was promoting a special on Mireles airing on Sunday's "Al Punto" news show

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  9. A seminal document summarizing the current situation in the Mexican countryside and artfully translated . Very smooth and flowing .

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  10. Seems to me that another revolución is needed and doctor mireles is clearly the one to lead it,he was choosen bby destiny.He kind of has those revolucionary look like che,villa y zapata.

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  11. nothing significant will happen until America ends its idiotic failed war on drugs which is basically a jobs program along with being a driving monetary force of the prison industrial complex.

    corrupt american politicians and their friends who have sunk in a lot of money in these mega prisons they are building left and right will never want the war on drugs to end. they want to continue imprisoning black and brown people for marijuana in order to keep their prison population high which means they get funding from the government.

    follow the money and find the truth.

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  12. Mireles is a wanna be soldier, he gets mad if anyone's else gets more attention than him. I know BB doesn't post comments that challenge them of offer a different viewpoint. It's sad you run this site in this way while pretending to be unbiased. I know everyone here worships this guy likes he's god haha.

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    Replies
    1. Ditto. cant make comments againts the views of the moderators for they wont show them.

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    2. Another point for BB & one less for ignorance and stupidity. Keep up the good work BB, there will always be those that look for a flaw no matter what.

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  13. I think at this point Dr. Mireles has become more than a pebble in someone's boot;
    if the Feds or anyone else kill him, I think it would spark a national uprise that has not been seen since the Mexican Revolution.
    Yet, I don't know why the Mexican people are still waiting, even if Dr. Mireles is still alive.

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  14. "corrupt american politicians and their friends who have sunk in a lot of money in these mega prisons they are building left and right will never want the war on drugs to end. they want to continue imprisoning black and brown people for marijuana in order to keep their prison population high which means they get funding from the government."

    Guess what? the prison industrial complex has moved to mexico, the same companies that built the prisons here, are building a bunch of new prison down there and offering training....just a matter of time before has a prison class. for me, that beats them having a serial killer out free in society class

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  15. DD: I think Gil Olmos titled the piece "el malo" to show how the government and the new paramilitary groups wish the public would see Dr. Mireles. Castillo and Pitufo have made every effort to discredit him, to portray him as the true bad guy. On the other hand, whether or not he will be perceived as ill-fated has not been decided yet. That will depend on whether his movement ultimately has any degree of success and, as usual, on who writes the history. -- un vato

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  16. Papa pitufo es parte del h3 junto con el comandande beto 5 y comando insurgente anarcokomunitario en complicidad del comicionado alfredo castillo, no los queremos en la costa.

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  17. Truth be known the US is the Grand Daddy of corruption with more developed finesse than the Mexicans at this time . The country is becoming an armed camp with the Feds vs the Citizenry . Many federal agencies have or are building their own forces to "police the commoners while the politicians and their cronies fleece them . It's the American way .

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  18. If the Mexican people don't rise up against their government in a revolution and they let this die, then they deserve what they end up with. Can't be any clearer than that. Of course that seems to be just following the history of Mexico. Until the poor and the working class demand more they won't get it. I guess that is why in two hundred years Mexico hasn't changed.

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  19. @10:46 almond bruzza. Yeah they get so many dollars per head, per day, and they dont even feed inmates at most county jails, that is why shit is always popping off at them..they get yay so much writen into their bugets for food and then turn around and spend pennies per meal to fead them, most of their daily nutritional needs are based on kindergarten meal portions, its all fucked....

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  20. Now EPN and his administration like all previous administration does not care nothing about Mexican citizen. In reality they only want their own benefice and they try to cover all the truth what is happening in Mexico. it is very hard to trust now Mexican Gov. EPN wants to silence and change all the context about Dr. Mireles and the real AD. STOP the greedy and corruption of your GOV. It looks impossible so better take advantage of brave people that still live in Mexico and support them not kill, torture, disappear, betray them. Better arrest LA TUTA and all his people Governors, majors, military personal, etc. Good citizen are getting frustrated about all this never ending situation. Thanks to this media for publish this comment.

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    Replies
    1. You hit it on the dot! Mexican people are not as stupid as the government thinks!

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  21. 10:50 jealous? men bigger than you have had a chance, pena nieto spent one million dollars (usd) promoting his ass on time magazine, and Dr Mireles beat his ass without spending one cent (pesos)getting more popularity in the process, with some to share...
    @1137 the US has many many more serial killers and mass murderers than any other country in the world, and some of them guilty of crimes against humanity, wanted by many countries, and protected by the US government, one of them felix ismael rodriguez, cost el salvador, that tiny country, over 200 000 casualties, dead and disappeared, among them a few catholic priests and nuns...

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  22. 12:34 you can post differing and even controversial views, but if younwant to be a negative asshole for the hell of it, then don't blame BB for your stupidity, i have had a few assholes criticizing me for "too long posts", which they think are "stupid" after saying they didn't read them!
    please, my dear monicas, don't bite it, criticize with some facts, even fake arguments, i don't care about your lame ass mental hand jobs...mr. POS

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  23. Borderland beat supports mireles tho this is interesting its difficult too choose a side and believe a "Journalist" but either way I jist hope michoacan goes back too the himble place it once was

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  24. @11:49 @8:45 you waste your fine pointed barbs for not posting time and date you are answering to...
    because "finerly ground irony" often escapes lower intellects, you could use the newly demonized, new presumed guilty supasta' of the messiah party, the good guy turned chupacabras by the mexican government allied with the mexican criminal cartels, el presunto culpable de hoy, jefe de un culto salvador satanizado poe el brujo mayor al servicio del chamuco puñetero aka epn, el nuevo muchacho malo de la telenovela, el Dotor Mirenles, fabricado por el protagonista en turno, el indio renegado hijo de la sirvienta y el patron: Enrique Peña Nieto, presidente de los rateros de mexico, y no de todos los mexicanos, nuestro presidente es mas el Doctor Mireles que el ratero de compra y roba elecciones, pena nieto...
    --i for one want to state here that i don't know how to hate, but i do despise; i have known people that wish i could hate instead of despise, and i don't blame them, it's like, you would not bother to step on a piece of shit...

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  25. I've been keeping up with the autodefensa movement for a few months and have come to the realization that what the Mexican people need isn't cooperation from the federal government, but rather to oppose it. The level of corruption only creates a sense of despair for Mexico's people, who probably don't know what else to do because their options are limited. I wish I could strongly urge any person from this proud country who is sick of all the crime, violence, and corruption to take up arms against not only the cartels but the government as well. The only thing that will save Mexico is civil war.

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  26. The Mexican government is so corrupt that they believe their own lies, nothing will get better unless they clean house! Starting from the top!

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  27. @9:07 heere we go again asshole...
    the supoort Dr Mireles enjoys, comes from the people, not from the mexican government and associated cartels, BB does not demand or asks anybody here to support the AD or any other cause, if too many support Dr Mireles, the AD and their cause, and understand their reasons and their just demands, may cause your jealous fed position...
    --but have faith my friend, you may be the lonely voice of the lone ranger claiming from the desert, maybe the mexican federal police will send you a torta and a soda, for you to keep riding their long distance dicks...

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  28. 12:34 "ditto" punditto, rush limbaugh's army of ignorant shitheads marchin' on...
    --do not make comments "against" anybody's views, pendejo!
    --state your views, make your comment, post, that's it, pendejo!
    --iddle comments like yours, tearfully full of hot air, tells nobody anything.
    --of course it's a free country, do as you please, you'll get lucky once in a while...

    ReplyDelete

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