Another Version of the Truth

Carlos Valdovinos, a survivor of The Tlatelolco Massacre

1968. Around the world, people were standing up for change, the women’s movement, civil rights, anti-war protests. Everyone had a voice and they were all using it to fight back. On the frontlines were the students of that generation. Protests were appearing everywhere from Paris to Berlin, Frankfurt to New York, and Berkeley to Rome. This was a time for change, and Mexico City was no different. The citizens of Mexico, led by their students, gathered together to show their unity in the battle for human rights, the basic freedoms of the people, economic and social justice. They were prepared to make a statement towards a government that would be heard around the world.

On October of 2nd, 1968, three days after his 18th birthday, Carlos G. Valdovinos made his way to the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in what was to be the largest rally Mexico had seen to date. He stood there proud chanting, joined by his friends and classmates. Angry at the abuse he and his fellow students endured as the president wasted the countries resources for the Olympic Games being held in ten days’ time. He was studying medicine in Preparatory school as he prepared to go onto University. He listened to the music of the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He had a large family and strong roots in Mexico City. He also, like many others, had no idea what was about to happen.

The first shots were fired late in the afternoon. “They are blanks, they are trying to scare us,” he remembered hearing. Then the bodies started falling to the ground. The guns grew louder and the addition of machine gun fire erupted. The people scattered. “I remember making my way into the building, and as I ran through the threshold I saw a big chunk of concrete explode next to my face. I turned and saw the traces of the light from the gunfire.” He retells the story of seeing a friend on the ground and pulling him by the arms in an attempt to get him to safety, but the upper part of his body separated from the lower half. In shock he stood there and witnessed his country killing its people, not just students, but also families, women and children all supporting the cause. Students toppled over the bodies of the dead, some by trampling, most by the army that opened fire upon them.

Another student came to ask for his assistance in lifting a manhole. They climbed into the sewers and waited until nightfall. When the army began removing all the bodies from the plaza, they went their separate ways. He made it home to find his parents waiting for him. The authorities had already gone to his home. They were sweeping all the homes for students who attended the rally. In fear for his life, they sent Carlos away. “There were friends you would never see again, never grow up with, that you knew all your life.” He wanted the best for his county and its people, and in one vicious deliberate swing, the generations voice for change was silenced. “I lost faith in my country.”

The reports the next day by the government controlled media read “Criminal Provocation at the Tlatelolco Meeting Causes Terrible Bloodshed.” Claiming approximately twenty students lost their lives in a show of self-defense by the Mexican army. For the people there, the number was approximately three thousand men, women, and children. In June 2006, former president, Luis Echeverría was charged with genocide in connection with the massacre. A month later, he was cleared of the charges, due to the expired statute of limitations.