Mexico: Student groups at UNAM, specifically "porros", that harass or threaten students who are critical of the government, particularly students who sing political protest songs, 1997-1999
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 5 November 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MEX33094.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Mexico: Student groups at UNAM, specifically "porros", that harass or threaten students who are critical of the government, particularly students who sing political protest songs, 1997-1999, 5 November 1999, MEX33094.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad6a10.html [accessed 5 November 2017] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Various reports refer to violence at different campuses of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, particularly in the context of a prolonged strike by students earlier in 1999. The latter included numerous confrontations, mostly at or around UNAM campuses, between striking students, non-striking students, student-related groups of thugs known as porros, and in some cases police forces of the Federal District (references to porros and their activities can be found in previous Responses, particularly MEX30618.E of 11 December 1998 and MEX25514.E of 19 December 1996.) However, only one report referred to a musical performance: at a concert of ska music organized by students of the National Preparatory School (ENP) No. 9, to raise funds for the student strike movement, a group of porros attacked and injured students, and withdrew, threatening to return (La Jornada 8 Aug. 1999). The report does not specify whether the injured included any of the performers.
A 1998 report on activities of porros at capital city schools refers to political violence at UNAM campuses (ibid. 18 Oct. 1998). The document states that the various student organizations associated with porros have long been involved in attacks and intimidation against anti-PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or non-PRI students, although lately the groups have tried to claim political independence; at the university level campuses of UNAM (as opposed to preparatorias campuses), porros have been active mostly at the engineering and law faculties (ibid.). At the law faculty, porros reportedly try to block non-PRI events, where they show up as a large group and threaten participants; the report adds that, although only one act of porro violence had taken place at the law faculty in the past four years, according to student testimonies the porros seem to follow their targets' activities (ibid.). Porros from the UNAM law faculty were identified by other students as being at least part of a group that fought with and threw small explosives (petardos) at striking students during one of the 1999 confrontations referred to above (ibid. 24 Aug. 1999).
One of the most violent porro groups, known as the Grupo Tres de Marzo (March 3rd Group), was formed in 1994 reportedly to counter Zapatista sympathizers (ibid. 18 Oct. 1998).Throughout its existence, members have reportedly been involved in armed robberies and had some support from the Gustavo A. Madero police precinct (delegación) (ibid.). Some of the leaders were eventually jailed, which according to an article reduced the presence of porros at the Humanities and Sciences School campus, where this group was most active (ibid.). In October 1998 the head of the Federal District Judicial Police (PJDF) announced that 11 porros active around the Madero precinct had been arrested and charged with a variety of criminal offences, through the cooperation of UNAM and other students, and announced that efforts against porros would expand to high schools and higher education centres (El Universal 3 Oct. 1998).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this information request.
El Universal [Mexico City]. 3 October 1998. Rafael Gonzalez. "Va a fondo la depuración en la Policía Judicial: Tornero."
La Jornada [Mexico City]. 24 August 1999. Karina Aviles. "Chocan huelguistas y antiparistas en CU."
_____. 8 August 1999. Susana Gonzalez G. and José Galán. "Cuatro paristas apaleados por un grupo de porros."
_____. 18 October 1998. Alberto Nájar. "Los porros ya no quieren ser Priístas: Aplicados y violentos en la UNAM."
Additional Sources Consulted
El Universal [Mexico City]. Internet search engine. 1998-1999.
La Jornada [Mexico City]. Internet search engine. 1997-1999.
Latin American Regional Reports: Mexico & NAFTA Report [London]. 1997-1999.
Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 1997-1999.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases, REFWORLD, Internet, WNC.
This list is not exhaustive. It does not include country-specific publications available at the Resource Centre.
