A Plan that, surprise, arrives just after the tragedy
In a turn of events that absolutely no one saw coming, the federal government has decided that maybe, just maybe, it should do something about the violence in Michoacán. The trigger? Nothing more and nothing less than the brutal murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo. Because, clearly, it takes a high-profile public official being killed to get things moving. Thus, with the pomp and circumstance that only a Sunday at the National Palace can offer, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has stood in front of the microphones to present the brand new Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice. One wonders if the hopeful name was given before or after cleaning up the blood from the crime scene.
To give it a touch of verisimilitude – or perhaps just to have someone to point out if everything goes wrong – the event had the always comforting presence of the entity’s governor, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, along with what appears to be the president’s legal cabinet and half of its expanded cabinet. Because if anything solves insecurity problems, it is a good photograph with many people in suits in a luxurious room. The plan, they tell us, was born in a “context of growing violence.” Wow, what an elegant way to describe the daily hell that Michoacans live through, a hell that reached its zenith with the cowardly homicide of a councilor. The strategy, in theory, seeks to address “concerns” about security and justice. Concerns, yes, as if people were uneasy about a tax increase and not because their mayors are being shot in broad daylight.
The consequences: fear, distrust and a nice new brochure
Meanwhile, in the real world, far from well-intentioned speeches, the crime against Carlos Manzo not only took the life of a person, but also inoculated a massive dose of fear and rest in the population of Uruapan and beyond. The citizens, those beings to whom the plan is supposedly directed, today look on with a mixture of hope and deeply rooted skepticism. The implementation of this new government initiative is seen, officially, as a “necessary response.” Of course, as necessary as it would have been six months or a year ago, when the violence was already out of control. But who are we to judge the timing of security policy? Maybe the calendars at the National Palace are slower.
One can’t help but speculate with a cynical smile: how many times have we seen this same script? Act I: An atrocious violent event that shocks the country. Act II: The officials on duty urgently meet and announce a “comprehensive plan” with a name that sounds like a superhero movie. Act III: …Well, Act III is usually the most disappointing, characterized by slow implementation, dubious results, and gradual oblivion until the next scandalous crime. It is the cycle of life, Mexico version. Authorities, with unwavering faith in the power of the new acronym, hope that this joint effort — a phrase that sounds as good as it is hollow — will help restore tranquility. Because, as we all know, tranquility is that thing that magically appears after a press conference, not something that is built with intelligence, resources and years of constant work.
So there you have it. A state in flames, a murdered mayor, and a new plan with a nice name. Is this the time the formula works, or are we simply witnessing the quintessential political ritual: acting decisively *after* the disaster has already occurred? Time, that implacable judge, will tell. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens, the true experts in surviving this security crisis, will continue with their daily lives, crossing their fingers that the next stray bullet—or targeted bullet—does not bear their name.
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