Mexicans to hold mass anti-crime protests

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-30 14:26

MEXICO CITY -- Mexicans called for mass protests Saturday against a tide of killings, kidnappings and shootouts sweeping the country despite the government's aggressive fight against drug gangs.

Frustration with rampant violence and organized crime presented a major test for President Felipe Calderon, who has made crime-fighting a centerpiece of his administration.

More than 13 anti-crime groups hoped for thousands of people to join marches in all 32 Mexican states Saturday evening, urging people to walk in silence with candles or lanterns. A similar march four years ago drew a quarter of a million people, and if anything, frustration with crime has only grown.

This week, a dozen headless bodies were found in the Yucatan peninsula, home to one of Mexico's most popular beach resorts, Cancun. Federal lawmakers responded by calling Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna to testify before Congress on Wednesday.

Calderon raised hopes when he made fighting crime a priority after taking office in 2006, deploying more than 25,000 soldiers and federal police to wrest territory from powerful drug cartels that smuggle the vast majority of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines into the United States.

Despite the arrest of top drug kingpins, little has improved on the ground. Homicides have surged as drug cartels battle each other for control of trafficking routes and stage vicious attacks against police each day. In the gang-plagued border state of Chihuahua alone, there have been more than 800 killings this year, double the number during the same period last year.

Kidnapping are up 9.1 percent, averaging 65 a day. Many more go unreported because victims fear police involvement.

Saturday's protests were inspired by the abduction and murder of a 14-year-old son of a wealthy businessman. The case provoked an outcry because prosecutors said a police detective was a key participant in the plot.

This week, another family's story shook the country. Silvia Escalera revealed that her 18-year-old daughter Silvia Vargas Escalera, whose father headed the National Sports Commission under the previous government, was kidnapped 11 months ago. The family agreed to pay a ransom but then lost contact with the kidnappers.

"I beg you to have mercy and return my daughter," Escalera said before newscameras after hanging a giant banner outside a public park with a phone number and photograph of her smiling daughter.

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