Reforma: Manuel J. Jáuregui*
Translated by Rachel Alexander
In 2014, speaking before representatives of the business community concerned with the jungle-like violence they were (and still are) living with in Tamaulipas, the Secretary of Government Relations, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong left the phrase "I am in charge" stamped in the book of notable sayings written by our political protagonists in the recent history of our Mexico - to which, as the poet said prophetically, "God deeded us a stable, and the Devil oil".
Just after he said these words, Osorio Chong increased the federal presence in Tamaulipas, shaken by violence in all of its territory, to some 19 thousand soldiers.
Two years later, Tamaulipas continues being almost as violent, but the federal presence has decreased notably and barely has 12.5 thousand soldiers, which is to say, a 34 percent reduction. Everything indicates that violence that has been ignited in Guerrero, Michoacán, Veracruz and other states in the country has diluted federal forces to pacify Tamaulipas.
And precisely to talk about this, Osorio Chong called a meeting of governors in Torreón Monday night. And certainly late, very late, he called the meeting to order. There, he told the governors something very different than "I am in charge." He told them that what's happening in Tamaulipas (this after a bloody confrontation with about four hours of gunfights leaving nine dead on Sunday in the streets of Reynosa) is due to "errors of past administrations."
In all due respect, we disagree with the pre-pre-presidential candidate: they have been in power for four years, Mr. Secretary has more than three years leading the office of the Secretariat of Government Relations. Blaming "the past" no longer works and is not valid. The citizenry will not buy this excuse: it is too late to use!
Neither does the blame lie with leaders of other political parties because in Tamaulipas only one has governed, the same one Osorio belongs to and the same one that aims to nominate him for the presidency in 2018: the PRI [Party of the Institutional Revolution]. Also, what then happened to the "I am in charge"? If he was "in charge," as he said in 2014, then everything that has happened and continues to happen in Tamaulipas is directly related to the decisions he has taken.
And if at some point Secretary Osorio Chong no longer was in charge, perhaps it would have been a good idea to let the citizens know, so they might know what to expect given his decision to abandon the issue of public security in Tamaulipas.
From whatever perspective you want to look at it, there is nobody responsible for the security disaster in Tamaulipas other than the current federal and state government. The sooner the problem is recognized, the sooner we can start fighting it. Blaming what happens today on earlier governments will solve nothing. Instead, repeating it is a fallacy that does nothing to address the problem.
Now, we clarify, as we usually do when presenting a critical observation, we don't know Secretary Osorio, nor do we want to. We are not in favor or against his possible presidential candidacy. Our criticism has nothing to do with him. It has to do with the measures - or lack thereof - the federal government has taken, such as, for example, removing troops, which has allowed the insecurity in Tamaulipas to worsen, and also leak into neighboring states like Coahuila, Nuevo León and Veracruz.
Our opinion is that if Mr. Osorio Chong wants to be president, he will not achieve that by dodging problems and looking for scapegoats, but, like Guadalupe Victoria [leader in War of Independence], pledging his sword.
There are no buts involved in saying "I am in charge." Thus, nothing remains for him except to take charge as God commands, returning the troops and pacifying Tamaulipas, taking it seriously with tough measures and not brandishing vain excuses.
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*Manuel J. Jáuregui is a regular columnist for Reforma.