Translated by Ruby Izar-Shea
The Secretary of Government Relations showed up last week and, out of nowhere, made two announcements. First, in a radio interview he said that the Interdisciplinary Group of International Experts, the famous IGIE, is leaving Mexico. Then, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong made a second announcement and hardly elaborated: what the IGIE has found is, voilà, the same thing as the "historical truth" [announced by then Attorney General Murillo Karam in January 2015]!
To quote him:
"It was very clear in the second agreement [to extend the work of the IGIE from November 2015 though April 2016]. Let’s remember they had two times periods, which is what was they said was needed. They didn’t say six months, they said four more months and the agreement with all the NGOs, with the group of lawyers helping the parents of the 43 young people disappeared, was to extend it six more months, definitively and for the last time.
"Instead of arguing about the time, we need conclusions. Because we [they] did't find a different line [of investigation] than the one studied by the PGR. We understand the time frame and continue working with them, providing, within the framework of our laws, all the facilities and everything they have requested to continue with the investigation of this unfortunate events," he added.I don’t think the IGIE or the parents are buying Osorio Chong’s version [The parents have stated they will wait until they meet with the IGIE before commenting on the statements of the government or the new team of fire experts]. Everyone who has followed the case, even from the official press, knows the IGIE has tried, for example, to interview the military personnel that was there that night in Iguala. In the "within the framework of our laws," is the justification of the Mexican State to not allow these key testimonies.
An important phrase: "We [they] didn’t find a different line [of investigation] than the one studied by the PGR." Osorio Chong clearly announces to the IGIE that the Mexican government has decided to expose it. If it evaluates the PGR conclusion’s as useless, then the IGIE is also useless because it got on the same bandwagon and “we [they] didn’t find a different line [of investigation] than the one studied by the PGR.” Because the experts had "all the facilities and everything they requested to continue with the investigation." The Secretary announces, then, that the IGIE ended up with the same line of the "historical truth".
***
Then, voilà, the April 1 press conference.
On stage: Eber Betanzos, the PGR’s Human Rights, Crime Prevention and Community Services Deputy, and Ricardo Damian Torres, who in theory gives voice to ALL the members of the panel of experts on fire dynamics. I capitalize ALL because the IGIE later questioned it.
"It can be concluded from various analyzes performed that there is enough evidence, even physically observable, to say that there was in fact a large controlled fire event at the place known as the Cocula trash dump,” said Torres at point 1 of his reading, and at point 2 stated:
"The collection of skeletal remains corroborates sufficient and matching evidence among the forensic teams, both from the PGR and the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), which allows us to determine that at least 17 adult humans were burned there."In short: Based on the PGR’s “and EAAF’s” "evidence" the "historical truth" can be confirmed. A “truth” which says that "at least 17 adult humans were burned" at the Cocula trash dump. Yes, that PGR "evidence" can be found in the "historical truth". But the EAAF "evidence" doesn’t exist.
In fact, what the Argentine forensic team said in its February 6 report is the opposite of what was said at the conference and, of course, contradicts the "historical truth". And the Argentine team ratified it on April 2, one day after the conference:
1. "The EAAF did not find any evidence that could link those fire events specifically to the night of September 26 to 27, 2014".
2. "It could not be established how long said remains (of 17 to 19 people) had been there.” And, “it could not be established, either, if the human remains were deposited there all at the same time or on different occasions”.In even fewer words: voilà, manipulating evidence and reports from different places, the "historical truth" is back.
If you add to that the fact that a big number of journalists aligned with the official version confirm the return of the "historical truth", there you have it, ladies and gentlemen: Mexico’s government is preparing to expose the IGIE, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as lazy, liars, troublemakers and, above all, useless.
And so, against everything we would have thought, the Government of Mexico will revive the "historical truth". Why make a mountain out of a molehill?, it will say. It will revive the memory of Jesus Murillo Karam [who had to resign after the uproar in response to his announcement of the "historic truth"] and it might even build him a monument.
Then, the State apparatus will mobilize, with all its resources, to sink the reputation of these foreigners, these invaders (and their Malinche [traitor], Emilio Alvarez Icaza, Executive Secretary of the Commission [who is Mexican] that distorted something that happened several years ago "with a group of unruly students linked to drug trafficking” [the government's first comment after the attack on and disappearance of the students].
And then, with Mexican’s small and easily manipulated memory as an ally, and a lot of backhanded tricks, "the myth of the 43" will be one among many. Like the myth of the "chupacabras" [legendary, bloodsucking creature] for example; or like the legend of "La Llorona" [legendary female ghost that walks the streets at night crying for her lost children].
It will be political fiction, then. Pure political fiction. Spanish original
*Alejandro Páez Varela is a journalist and novelist. He is the author of the novels Heart of Kalashnikov (Alfaguara 2014, Planet 2008), Music for Dogs (Alfaguara 2013) and The Kingdom of the Flies (Alfaguara 2012) and collections of short stories and essays Batteries Not Included (Cal y Arena 2009 ) and Parachutes That Don't Open (2007). He wrote President In Waiting (Planeta 2011) and is a co-author of other journalistic books such as The War for Juarez (Planeta, 2008), The Aspirants 2006 (Planeta 2005) The Aspirants 2012 (Planeta 2011), The Lords of Mexico (2007), The Untouchables (2008). He was deputy editor of El Universal and of the magazine, Day Seven. and an editor at Reforma and El Economista. He is currently director of content of SinEmbargo.mx @paezvarela