Episode 17 - The Untimely Massacre at Tlatelolco

The Olympics is a much-awaited exciting time all over the world. Countries unite as one and celebrate humanity and camaraderie. But sometimes, leading up to the games is nothing but chaos and sometimes, death. 
======
Follow us on Twitter @UntimelyPodcast
Music: "Humbled in a Battle" by Antti Luode (http://anttismusic.blogspot.com)

Episode Transcript

(00:11):
Robert traveled all over the world asa sports editor for the London Evening News.
His job brought him to different countrieswhere he enjoyed seeing various sites,
sounds, and sports. Most ofall, he loved meeting new people from
different cultures, especially when he wasasked to cover the Olympics. For him,

(00:33):
covering the Olympics wasn't just a job, but it was an honor to
see the world united, swan andcelebrate humanity at our best. This year,
much to his excitement, he wasagain asked to cover the Olympics.
He packed his bags and set offon another great experience. When he got
to his hotel, he met upwith his colleagues and started to tour the

(00:56):
Olympic village, walked around the differentareas that they will visit, and got
to know what the public felt abouthosting the events. Robert met a lot
of locals who were enthusiastic about thegames and proud to host the entire event.
The people want the Games to gowell and show the world what their
country has to offer. While thehost country was busy preparing for the Games,

(01:21):
a portion of the population was gatheringto protest. The protest was not
entirely about the Olympics, but thepolitical unrest has been simmering for quite a
while, even before the Olympics becamethe government's focus. It was ten days
before the opening ceremony and Robert foundhimself around town. He's heard about the

(01:42):
demonstrations and decided to check it out. Maybe there's a story to it,
or perhaps it wouldn't be anything significant. He and other members of the media
made their way to the city square. They were met by thousands of people
local to the host country, gatheredto make their voices heard. Robert did
notice that most of the people wereyoung, possibly college aged, and despite

(02:04):
the number of people, the atmospherewas peaceful and orderly. But in a
matter of minutes, the simmer turnedinto a raging boil. Later on,
when Robert looks back to that day, he will say that it was the
most terrifying night of his life.You're listening to Untimely, a podcast about

(02:31):
events from earlier or recent history thatresulted in untimely fatalities and damages in its
wake. I am your host,Liz. Since its inception, the Olympic
Games has had its moments of highsand lows. Visiting countries wave their flags
in pride and honor, and hostcountries welcomed the entire world as their countries

(02:52):
put on one of the biggest stagesof athleticism and competition. On the other
hand, the political aspect of theOlympics does create an atmosphere of tension and
ambivalence. In today's episode of untimelywill revisit the events leading up to the
nineteen sixty eight Olympic Games held inthe country of Mexico. In the sixtieth

(03:25):
International Olympic Committee session in West Germany, the Committee was about to announce their
selection for the host city of thenineteen sixty eighth Summer Olympics. The cities
fighting for the honor were Detroit fromthe United States, Lyon from France,
Buenos Aires from Argentina, and MexicoCity from Mexico. Representatives of these cities

(03:49):
were present during the announcement on Octobereighteenth, nineteen sixty three. The Committee
then happily selected the honor goes toMexico City. This announcement became the first
Games to be hosted in a LatinAmerican country and the first Spanish speaking country
to receive the honor. This wasalso the first time that East and West

(04:11):
Germany competed as separate countries, butthe games were littered with controversy even before
it started. After World War Two, the country of Mexico experienced economic growth
and strength under the control of PartidoRevolutionario Institutional or PRII. The PRII was

(04:34):
the dominant political party in the country, established in nineteen twenty nine. In
the nineteen sixties, the paso wasstable and external debt was at an all
time low, which made Mexico oneof the fastest developing countries in the world.
But many, including university students,felt that the economic growth was not

(04:55):
spread evenly and there were other changesneeded to make things even better. As
the elite of mexico society enjoyed growthand upward gains, there was little that
can be afforded by the poor andunemployed, especially in rural areas. In
a university survey in nineteen sixty seven, Mexico's population was forty seven million,
About five million had no access tobasic resources, and eleven million were considered

(05:20):
illiterate. When Mexico made a bidfor the nineteen sixty eight Summer Olympics and
eventually won, the government saw anopportunity to sustain its economic growth. The
Olympics will showcase the country through globalnetworks and media coverage. This in turn
will bring investors, which will createjobs and strengthen development further. But to

(05:42):
host the games properly, infrastructure willneed to be built to accommodate the International
Committee's requirements. The government, ledby then President Gustavo Diez or Das,
decided to use what they have availablepublic funding. The investment was around one
hundred fifty million dollars, equal toabout one billion in today's money. Everyone

(06:04):
in Ordazi's cabinet agreed to use thefunds, including the Finance Minister, but
a portion of the public did not. The main reason for the opposition is
that the government should prioritize its ownpeople's needs before spending money on the Olympic
Games, and funding can be raisedin the private sector. The opposing protesters

(06:25):
were mainly made up of university studentswho had a fair amount of classes in
the past with the government. Oneinstance happened in nineteen sixty six at the
University of Mitchauakan in Morelia. Studentswere protesting the increase in bus fare which
was relatively low key in comparison tomore massive demonstrations in other areas of the

(06:46):
country. Instead of letting the statehandle the protesters, President diaz Or does
intervene under the guise that the demonstratorswere acting as communists influenced by a foreign
power, obviously entirely unfounded. Thefaceoff between federal police and protesters resulted in
one student shot to death. Thingsescalated from there, and many students were

(07:12):
arrested or expelled. A similar incidenthappened on another campus, University of Sonora.
President diaz Or does magnify his authorityby making threats to other universities in
a speech quote, neither claims ofsocial and intellectual rank, nor economic position,
nor age, nor profession, noroccupation grants anyone immunity. I must

(07:38):
repeat, no one has rights againstMexico. The government's oppression of student demonstrations
added fuel to the fire, butwhile the threats remained, students continued to
mobilize and gather strength in numbers.On a global level, similar protests were
held by university students in other countries, including the United States, hand Italy,

(08:01):
France, and Argentina. The studentprotesters from Mexico were not alone.
On July twenty second and twenty thirdof nineteen sixty eight, after a football
game, several fights between rival schoolsignited an already volatile environment. The schools
involved were from two different sides ofthe economic scale, one a vocational school

(08:24):
while the other was a college preparatoryschool. The special police corps of grenadiers,
or riot police, were sent tobreak up the fight, but instead
of calming everyone down, the grenadiersresorted to violence. The students turned their
frustrations toward the grenadiers, and formany hours both sides fought and battled.

(08:45):
Later, it was found out thatthe grenadiers were paid thirty pesos, which
is equal to about three dollars forevery student that they physically hurt and arrested.
When the news of this unnecessary andfatal violence spread, the anger and
resentment escalated even further. University studentsfrom different states and areas united against this

(09:05):
repression and protested the government's improper handlingof the event. In response to this
violent means, two demonstrations were heldon July twenty sixth. The first demonstration
was a call to action in supportof the students of the vocational school affected
by the violence, while the otherdemonstration was to remember the fifteenth anniversary of

(09:28):
the Mankara Barracks assault in Cuba innineteen fifty two. Eventually, these two
demonstrations crossed paths and joined together asthey marched to the center square of Zocalo
in Mexico City. Once the groupsstarted to settle and made their way to
the center, the mounted police barredeveryone from entering the square. When the
protesters were refused entrance, they continuedtheir protests and over the next few days,

(09:54):
rioted on the city streets and hastilyset fire to empty buses. The
riot police responded in kind, whichresulted in hundreds of injured protesters and more
hauled to jail. At one point, demonstrators fled from the police and hid
inside the San Ildefonso A preparatory schoolin the area. Eventually, an official

(10:16):
made the call and launched a bazukato blast through the school's door. On
a side note, the door blastedby the unnecessary artillery was made of wood
and have been in the school sincethe eighteenth century. The government felt justified,
stating that protests were backed up andorganized by Mexico's Communist Party, which

(10:37):
obviously was not true. Even withoutevidence, the Attorney General issued warrants against
anyone who was linked to the protests, making them political prisoners without cause.
This injustice aggravated the situation even further. The rector of one of the universities,
Javier Barosilva, publicly criticized the governmentfor using heavy be handed responses to

(11:01):
lawful student protests and unlawful arrests ofinnocent people. To prove that students were
not violent offenders or would have neverprovoked the right police, or were organized
by communists. The rector led amarch through Zukalo with thousands behind him,
chanting unette pueblo or people join us. This march started and ended without incident.

(11:24):
It was a successful showing of aunited student body and a blow to
the government's actions. After the protestled by the rector, the student protesters
from different universities linked up and formedthe National Strike Council to organize more demonstrations
and present their demands to the government. As one about seventy universities in preparatory

(11:48):
schools joined the movement in solidarity.Despite rivalries and long time animosity within the
schools. This democratic union of studentbodies agreed to set aside differences to put
an end to the government's reign ofinjustice and terror. What's impressive about this
movement was the student group's ability toorganize quickly and secure equality among its members.

(12:13):
About two hundred forty delegates from differentschools met to organize protests and to
promote social, economic, and politicalreform. Women were equally represented as well.
The council organized themselves in brigadas,or groups of six, who distributed
paraphernalia to advocate their cause in everypossible avenue available. They boarded buses,

(12:35):
had public speeches, and influenced thepublic. Their persistence paid off, and
support from outside the council gained traction. One of their demands was the resignation
of President Diaz Ordaz, who atthis point has had enough. With the
Olympic Games starting in about a month. He wanted all demonstrations stopped by all

(12:56):
means necessary. On September thirteenth,the President ordered the army to occupy the
National Autonomous University of Mexico, oneof the universities heavily involved in the council
and previous protests. Although the militarynever once fired a bullet, many students,
whether they were a part of theCouncil or not, were beaten and

(13:18):
arrested. As you can imagine,this decision by the president to interfere did
not quell the protests, but madeit even stronger. Weeks before the start
of the nineteenth Olympiad, the media, athletes, and the International Olympic Committee
arrived in Mexico City. The streetswere flushed with Olympic pride, with the

(13:41):
easily recognizable five Rings seen in everycorner of the city. The world had
descended on Mexico City to celebrate.It was October nineteen sixty eight. The
Council organized a rally in Latillolco,an area of cultural and archeological significance for
the country of Mexico. The Councilchose the Plaza de la Stresculturas or Square

(14:03):
of the Three Cultures, as thelocation. The square sits on the top
of an ancient Azdec temple, andto its side is the Santiago de Lateloco,
a Catholic church built in the sixteenhundreds. On the other side is
a massive residential complex built four yearsearlier. At the start of the protest,

(14:24):
there were about fifteen thousand people,but slowly decreased in number in the
afternoon. Are in five o'clock andestimated five thousand people made up of protest
leaders, council members, students andthe supporting public, including women and children
from the residential complex, were inattendance. Later, as more people assembled

(14:45):
in the plaza, they were joinedby members of the electrical union, petrol
employees and phone operators. Basically,the working class and the student bodies converged
to rally their causes. The makeshiftstage, which was a balcony three floors
up the complex called the Chihuahua Building, was occupied by speakers and protest leaders.

(15:07):
There were several journalists with their cameramenequipment in tow in and around the
crowd to document what was happening.Among the media and attendants was John Rada
from The Guardian and Robert Trevor fromthe London Times. Throughout the protest,
attendees listened to engaging speeches, roaringwith patriotic ardor and enthusiastic energy for reform,

(15:30):
chants of noqueremos olympiadras keremos revolution translatedas we do not want the Olympics.
We want a revolution, echoed loudlyin the square. Aside from the
demand to remove President Diaz or Doesand the Prii in power, their demands
were the following. First repeal ofarticles one four five and one four five

(15:52):
B of the Penal Code, whichsanctioned imprisonment of anyone attending meetings of three
or more people deemed to threaten publicorder. Second dismantled the grenadiers, the
tactical police force who executed violence inprevious protests. Third immediate release of political
prisoners. Fourth dismissal of the Chiefof Police and the Deputy and five bring

(16:18):
justice through officials who sanctioned the violencefrom previous protests. As the rally continued,
protest leaders noticed that slowly flanking theirsides were members of the military in
full tactical gear and artillery popping upin small increments. The Minister of Interior,
Louise Echeveria Alvarez, was put incharge of the situation by President Diaz

(16:42):
Ordas more speeches rallied the attendees whocontinued to demand reform. Up to this
point, the rally and those inattendance were calm and orderly. Between forty
five to fifty minutes after the speechesstarted, the sound of blades spinning in
the air began to drown out thecrowd's chants. The noise started to get

(17:06):
louder and louder as two helicopters camecloser and closer to the square. The
crowd noticed, but paid little attention. The helicopters hovered above the crowd for
about a minute or two, whensuddenly a green flare dropped from one of
the helicopters down to the ground.Then a red flash dropped from the other,

(17:27):
then another, and another, untilthe flares surrounded the square and crowd
boxing in. The thousands of peopleinside the crowd started to take notice,
and panic followed and replaced the onceenthusiastic spirit that maintained order. The council
members and speakers pled to the crowdto settle down and tried to calm down

(17:48):
the now agitated public. What thecouncil did not realize or account for was
the intense desire of their government tostop the protest at all costs and ensure
that the Olympic Games go on withoutany problems. Etchivaria Alvarez deployed the Olympia
Battalion, a top secret police forcecomposed of military personnel, state police,

(18:15):
and federal security agents whose primary purposewas to provide security for the Olympic Games.
On the day of the protest,the Olympia Battalion executed Operation Galiana,
a security task campaign mapped out inresponse to a possible shooting scenario during the
games. There were about five thousandmembers of the Battalion present on October second.

(18:40):
When the helicopters released the flares.This was the sign for the Battalion
to take action. The mission wasto dissolve the protest and arrest the leaders
of the council. Shortly after theflares hit the ground, a gunshot disturbed
the peace and sparked the chaos thatimmediately ensued. The shot was followed by
a barrage of gunfire from automatic weaponsand military rifles. Tankettes surrounded the square,

(19:06):
making it impossible for the crowd toexit and avoid getting shot. Apparently,
this was one of the strategies ofthe operation to guarantee that all exits
are sealed so no one can leaveand evade arrest. The terrific sound of
guns firing and the crowd, screamingin terror filled the air. Members of
the battalion wore white gloves to separatethemselves from the crowd. People scrambled everywhere

(19:29):
they can, but for the battalionit was like shooting fish in a barrel.
Bodies fell and started to pile up. While the killings continued and some
of the crowd ran away, Afew members of the battalion waved their arms
as a signal to the rest ofthe force to storm the ground and grab
as many attendees as possible. Theenforcers not only fired on unarmed civilians,

(19:56):
but also beat them in clubs,kidnapped some of the lead, and moved
them away to be questioned, arrested, and subsequently tortured. People from the
ground saw armed forces on the topof the church and balconies of the residential
buildings with their weapons pointed down onthe ground where the protest attendees dropped in
mass. Bodies were scattered everywhere,and blood sprayed the walls and stained the

(20:22):
ground. The bombardment of bullets andtear gas continued for two hours. Residents
of the complex tried to flee,but were also fired upon by the military.
Some kind hearted people let students insidetheir homes to hide. Some captured
students were lined up with their handsflat on the wall and legs spread apart.
Battalion members also ordered attendees to goinside the church and told everyone to

(20:47):
lay down and face the ground.One of the journalists, Robert Trevor,
was able to get away using sidestreets. He and another reported twisted and
turned every which way they can toavoid being shot or get caught in the
stampede. Once they got out ofthe square and stepped on the city's main
road, Paseo de la Reforma,it was like stumbling out of a parallel

(21:07):
universe. The main thoroughfare, muchto their surprise, was normal, no
screaming public, no gunshots, andpeople walked without care, oblivious to the
massacre happening in the square just afew blocks away. By then, the
day turned into night and the darksky cloaked the bodies on the ground.

(21:30):
The square, once energized by peacefulprotests, was eerily quiet. From time
to time, gunfire was heard,and the sound of an ambulance followed the
sounds of truck engines and screeching brakesdriving in and out of the plaza never
stopped until dawn. The operation,led by the armed forces, continued through
the night. Members of the battalionwent door to door inside the residential complex

(21:55):
and surrounding neighborhoods looking for college agekids to kidnap and torture. The government
shut off electricity in the area andcut off the phone lines as well.
Around two thousand people were arrested andbrought to the Lecombery jail. For many,
it was the longest and most terrifyingnight of their lives. From dusk

(22:17):
until dawn, bodies were removed andtaken to unknown locations, buried in mass
graves. The next day, thesquare was cleared out and little evidence of
what happened remained. The government runnewspaper Elia ran a front page story with
a headline criminal provocation at the LATELOLCOmeeting causes terrible bloodshed. Basically, the

(22:44):
news reported the government's official story thatcommunists were in attendance in the protests and
made the first shot at the police, which caused the authorities to respond in
kind. The Police commissioner held apress conference and stated that twenty four people
were many of whom were students,including seven policemen. All because of gunfire

(23:04):
provoked by the Communist Party, butobviously those who were actually in the square
that night, including foreign journalists likeRobert Trevor and John Rodd, reported the
truth based on their own experiences insteadof twenty four like the government said.
The two reporters estimated about three hundredto five hundred dead from gunshots both accidental

(23:29):
and on purpose, fired by thebattalion as ordered by Ordes Diaz and Echavaria
Alvarez. Their stories made headline newsin their respective countries, but the outrage
did not affect Mexico at all.Robert Trevor recalls meeting a local woman a
few days after the event to lookfor her son, who she thought was
in attendance at the square. Themother reached out to the police but was

(23:53):
turned away because she had no clearevidence that her son was even at the
protest. She never knew what happenedto her son. Elena Poniatowska, a
local journalist, heard about this eventand went to the plaza to seek out
eyewitnesses. She interviewed many survivors andbystanders and documented their stories. Elena met

(24:15):
women who had the same plight asthe one Robert Trevor met searching for their
children, who never came home.She noticed that although there were no dead
bodies, unmatched shoes and bloodstains canbe seen strown about. She also documented
interviews from former prisoners from the protests. Elena also met Italian journalist Oriana Falacci,

(24:38):
who was on the ground that day. Falacci was shot three times and
left for dead, but was broughtto a local hospital and lived to tell
her tale. Falacci called the Italianparliament and demanded a boycott of the games
as she saw soldier shooting point blankat civilians. Despite all the evidence and
accounts, the Mexican government denied anydirect involvement in the massacre and placed the

(25:03):
blame on the Communist Party. Butwhat was even more surprising was the response
from the International Olympics Committee. Despitethe horror of the events on October two,
the IOC decided that the games willgo on, and when the Olympic
flame was lit, those who weredead, wounded, tortured and missing were

(25:23):
forgotten and buried under the spectacle ofthe nineteenth Olympiad. The number of deaths
remained unknown. In nineteen seventy one, Elena Poniatowska published her book titled La
de Lco, known as the Massacreat Latelolco. But even with a published

(25:45):
book and other articles written by thosewho were there, nothing came out of
it. For decades, no onewas prosecuted or brought to justice. Those
who were killed or lost were nevernamed, only the ones they left behind
to mourn their absence. In nineteensixty nine, diaz or Das feigned responsibility

(26:06):
for the events of October second,which enabled the new president to take over
none other than Luis Echeveria Alvarez.He remained in power for six years,
and diaz or Daz, even thoughhe claimed responsibility, was never prosecuted.
Pressure from survivors and families continued inthe seventies, eighties, and nineties to

(26:27):
find out what happened. In nineteenninety eight, then President Ernesto Zedilio approved
a congressional investigation of the tragedy,but the ruling party, the PRII,
blocked the investigation and did not relentto the official report. The same year,
Kate Doyle, an American senior analystfrom the National Security Archive, reviewed

(26:49):
the classified US documents on the Latelolcomassacre. Her investigation was released on the
event's thirtieth anniversary, highlighting the concernsof the US government about the security around
the games and how the Mexican governmenthandled the student protests. In the year
two thousand, a new era inthe fight for political power in Mexico began.

(27:11):
The PRII ended its seventy year reignand welcomed President Vicente Fox of the
National Action Party. One of hisactions as a president was to investigate and
finally answer the thirty year questions thatfamilies and survivors had about what happened on
October second. He authorized the releaseof any documents related to the military presence

(27:33):
at the square. Reports and officialvideos were found that supported Elena Ponitovska's book,
as well as the articles by JohnRata and Robert Trevor. In the
video, you can clearly see thatthe first shot was executed by strategically placed
snipers on the balcony of the ChihuahuaBuilding where the protests were held outside.

(27:56):
It is important to note that thesnipers were a part of the Presidential National
Guard, which further proves the involvementof Diaz or Das there were no communists
present in the crowd, it wasclear that it was the government who instigated
the massacre. The consensus of thenumber of deaths from the investigation, archives,

(28:18):
testimonies, and other official documents wasbetween three hundred and four hundred.
Kate Doyle successfully helped in naming atleast forty four people who died that day.
By two thousand and six, theonly living member of the diaz or
DA's cabinet was Luis Echeveria Alvarez.At first, he was arrested by the

(28:42):
prosecution and charges of homicide, butbecause of the thirty years statute of limitations,
it was dropped. It was thencharged with genocide, which did not
carry any statutes. However, threeyears later the charges were again dropped.
A tribunal of Circuit court judges ruledthat there was not enough evidence to support

(29:04):
the direct involvement of Echeverria Alvarez,who was set free and lives in Mexico
City as of the release of thispodcast. The nineteen sixty eight Olympics had
other controversies and highlights. This wasthe stage where US athletes Tommy Smith and
John Carlos took a stand for civilrights by raising their gloved fists up high

(29:27):
as they stood on the podium afterwinning gold and bronze, respectively for the
two hundred meter men's race. Thisiconic photo and stance against oppression, known
as the Black Power salute, wasseen as a political move by the IOC
and deemed unbecoming of an Olympic athlete. The two runners were ultimately banned in

(29:48):
the Olympic Games for life. Unfortunately, this was not the last Olympics where
public rallies, protests, controversies,and deaths will occur. On December two
thousand and eight, the Mexican Senateofficially declared October second as a national Day
of mourning. On the fortieth anniversaryof the massacre, thousands of students rallied

(30:14):
in memory of those who suffered,who were killed and never found. Around
forty thousand marchers walked to significant siteswhere protests were held in nineteen sixty eight,
including Zoccallo and the Plaza. Multiplememorials were built to remember the events
of October second. One such monumentstands on the south side of the Plaza

(30:36):
de la stress Culturas. Engraved onthe monument is a stanza from the poem
written by Mexican poet Rosario Castellanos,translated in English by David Bowles. The
last stanza reads, I remember,we remember. This is our way of
helping the light shine upon so manysulid consciences. Upon a wrathful text,

(31:00):
open bars upon the face obscured behindthe mask. I remember, we remember
until we feel justice, at leasthere among us. Thank you for listening

(31:26):
to this episode of Untimely. Letme know what you think of this episode.
I will post direct links to thevideos released to the public for your
reference. Fair warning, the footageis graphic and depicts violent acts. Please
use your discretion when viewing the video. If you learn something new today and

(31:47):
enjoy the podcast, please rate andreview us on your favorite podcast platform.
Also share the podcast with your friendsand family. Don't forget to connect with
us on Twitter at Untimely Podcast tohear from you.