Tlatelolco Massacre, 1968
When Mexico won the bid for the 1968 Olympics, the government wanted to make a good impression. Spending $150 million (c.$1 billion in today’s money) on preparations was intended to showcase Mexico to the world, but others saw a similar opportunity to showcase the oppressive government to the world. The government had arrested numerous political prisoners and employed a ruthless police force which viciously put down fights between gangs from Mexico’s universities and colleges. The student movement was initially confined to volunteers boarding buses and informing passengers about the government’s corruption, asking for donations to effect political change in Mexico.
However, on August 1st 1968, 50, 000 students marched in protest, without any violence or arrests. Others began joining the students on subsequent demonstrations, and eventually the government, fearing negative publicity during the Olympics, sent the police to occupy university campuses and end the protests. The Zacotenco and Santo Tomas campuses in Mexico City held out against the police for 12 hours, trading Molotov cocktails with police bullets and bazooka fire, leading to fifteen deaths and many being injured. In response, the CNH, which was behind the protests, organised a demonstration in La Plaza de Las Tres Culturas, Tlatelolco district.
Around 5, 000 students arrived, expecting a peaceful protest, but the square was swiftly surrounded by tanks, snipers, and armed police. The police began firing into the crowd, killing between 200 and 300 protestors; the official ‘count’ was 4. Many sought refuge in surrounding buildings, but were dragged out and either arrested or shot. The government claimed that protestors had opened fire on the police, but fortunately scores of foreign journalists were there for the Olympics, and gave a damning report of events. Many today see the massacre as the start of the decline of the dominant political party, PRI.