The civil unrest in San Salvador Atenco of 2006 began on Wednesday, May 3, when police prevented a group of 60 flower vendors from selling at the Texcoco local market in the State of México, about 30 km (19 mi) from Mexico City. Police used violence and arrest against resisters. The flower vendors appealed to the residents of San Salvador Atenco, a small neighboring community about 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Mexico City, famous for their resistance to the development of an airport on their land in 2002. The Atenco residents blocked the highway to Texcoco near their town. In response, hundreds of state police were summoned to remove the blockade, but were unsuccessful after five attempts.
Contents
The confrontations were very violent, causing the deaths of two protesters, and dozens of people (mostly women) were sexually assaulted by the police forces.
National Human Rights Commission report
On 16 October 2006, National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) President José Luis Soberanes Fernández published the results of its five-month investigation of the case. The CNDH called the incident a "tragedy", called particular attention to the excessive use of force and firearms by state and federal authorities, and specifically found that:
In connection with these findings, the CNDH submitted recommendations to the federal Secretary of Public Security, Eduardo Medina Mora; the governor of the state of México, Enrique Peña Nieto; and the commissioner of the National Migration Institute, Hipólito Treviño. These included, inter alia, improved training for the security forces, due compensation for the next-of-kin of the two fatalities and for all those whose human rights were violated, and a review of the expulsion procedures applicable to foreign visitors.
The report concluded that the violence could have been prevented through dialogue, but that "preference was given to the use of public force".
Police brutality
The National Human Rights Commission has charged that police used excessive force, smashing windows and furniture, and hauling people from their beds. The commission is investigating reports that police molested and raped female detainees and abused children, the elderly and the disabled.