Massacre shadows Mexico, Olympics

[AlphaCentauri]

MEXICO CITY — Almost 40 years ago, the organizers of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City had extraordinary work to do to get ready for the Games: Clean the blood from Tlatelolco plaza.

Just 10 days before Mexico made history as the first Latin American host of the Olympics, government forces killed dozens of student protesters and jailed thousands of activists seeking democratic change. Despite ripples of outrage, the Olympics went on as planned.

To this day, the Tlatelolco massacre—described by some as Mexico's Tiananmen Square—remains a divisive topic as Mexicans try to come to terms with its legacy. While some believe it set in motion eventual political reforms, others are focused on the unfinished business, including bringing perpetrators to justice.

As the intersection of sport and politics again takes the spotlight—this time as China faces questions about its crackdown on Tibetan protesters and other human-rights issues ahead of the Beijing Games—activists in Mexico City are hoping to find new momentum for their struggle for justice and awareness after Tlatelolco.
The massacre's aftermath has echoes in how world leaders have struggled to find an appropriate reaction to the Tibet unrest and China's handling of it. At a time of Cold War rivalry, neither the U.S. nor Russia criticized Mexico for the bloody crackdown.

"You can't expect everyone to look at it the same. But there is great agreement that '68 was a fundamental point in transforming the hermetic situation of Mexican society," said Sergio Arroyo, director of a new museum dedicated to the event. "In a sense, we all inherited '68."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-mexico-olympics_avilajul28,0,2240252.story