On november 12, a crowd of about 500 protesters set ablaze the congress building in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero because of the violent rally over the alleged massacre of 43 students. Students and teachers marched to the Guerrero state and set fire to the libraries and chambers in the congress building. The building was empty at the time of the fire. Mexico has been facing more and more violence from their people since the 43 students were handed over by the corrupt police to the Guerros Unidos gang, members of which confessed to murdering them and reducing their bodies to ashes. This type of crime is common in mexico however the response from the people was what differed from previous crimes. My question is.
Do you think the violent and almost revolutionary response to the corruption of the police is the right response? Should they have tried another method, or has the flawed police departments in mexico gone to far for a simple protest or democratic response? Thoughts?
Violent protest rarely gets anything done right. Not only does it discredit the protesters, but it could inevitably lead to loss of public support. Rightfully gaining the support of the people should be a goal of any protest. Otherwise, democracy will do what it is designed to do and go with the opinion of the majority of the public. Based on the lessons of history, I doubt a revolution would work without running the risk of becoming too radical in its goal, whether it be left-wing or right-wing.
I can understand that the people are angry with the police, but showing their anger through violence puts them on the same level as the police that they're angry with. This incident probably will cause things to change, but at the same time it will probably set things back a bit. The people should have tried peaceful protests before anything violent. Seeing that the police is involved with gangs though, things are going to be harder to change to begin with.
I believe that violent protest can be effective against incredibly corrupt government institutions. It worked for our founding fathers. Obviously people shouldn't burn down buildings over minor transgressions but I think it can be justified in a situation as heinous as this. I think Thomas Jefferson said it best "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
I agree fullheartedly with Amber and Zach. Violence tarnishes the idea that the protesters stood for. The corruption of the government and the police, while evokes displeasure from the public, cannot and will not be fought against with violence and vandalism. The protesters should have tried more peaceful methods and use legal means to combat corruption, even though it would have been more difficult.
I don't think they should have lit a government building on fire because they are only going to cause chaos. I can understand that they are very upset with the police and would want to protest but the violence is unnecessary.
The police force and many other sources of leadership do need revision in Mexico. The corruption and flaws within their systems cost their people too much. It would be in the United States' best interest as well to fix the police force because this would reduce the number of immigrants traveling across the border. By securing their police forces and other leadership positions, that would in turn set off a change in Mexico which would, hopefully, create a desirable environment for living.
when all else fails, and the government and police become more and more corrupt maybe a violent protest and uprising is needed. when civil responses and non violent protests lead to students and adults being killed, civilians have the right to stand up for themselves and overthrow a corrupt system. The civilians need to pick and choose their battles, becasue they are fighting violence with more violence, but they can not stand around and be bullied. Some sort of action has to be taken.
While I usually never advocate violence, this may have been the right thing to do as it gets attention. Now the government will be forced to act because the people are retaliating. The good part about this particular crime is that no one was in the building. However, now that they have the government's attention, I think they should try a more diplomatic approach or at least a more peaceful protest.
