By Ricardo Robles Sánchez*
“The worst sin towards our fellow men is not to hate them, but to treat them with indifference: that is the essence of inhumanity.” Bernard Shaw
Let’s be clear: we are all complicit in the murder of Carlos Manzo and every person who has died raising their voice in a country dominated by criminals, while millions maintain a silence that fuels the tragedy. We assume ourselves to be victims, but we rarely make the effort to transform our immediate environment: our families, our neighborhoods, our own community.
The mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, was murdered moments after carrying one of his children during the Day of the Dead celebrations. He was killed by another victim: a 17-year-old teenager who had disappeared from his home days before, seduced by a mirage that faded as quickly as it began. One of those young people identical to those whose parents, in community meetings, listened to Manzo himself: “Don’t be pimps”, “put order in your houses”, “report them: it is preferable that they mourn for them in prison for a few years than for them to mourn for eternity from the grave.”
That moment reveals the root of our disaster: we let what devours us today grow in silence. We tolerate—and even validate—behaviors that end up feeding the monster we now face. From home, school and community we open cracks that come back in our faces.
I recently heard a specialist explain why so many children and young people end up trapped in criminal networks. It is not—as we usually think—poverty or the illusion of wealth and power that brings them together, but rather the desperate search for validation. In their homes and schools they hear phrases like: “you are good for nothing”, “you will never get far”, “you should be like…”; Meanwhile, a criminal who needs cannon fodder does recognize his abilities: “you are brave,” “you run faster,” “you know how to hide.” These children and young people flee their homes and schools to take refuge where they do feel recognized and valued, even if they end up deceived, used and killed.
Yes, we are all responsible. Because although we do not kidnap or murder, we prefer to look the other way, we prefer to maintain a cowardly and complicit silence. “We can’t do anything. They are very powerful,” we tell ourselves. But it is we who, with our indifference, have created and empowered them. Ceci Flores, a searching mother, expressed it forcefully: “It is time to unite, until there are so many of us that the bullets cannot reach us all.”
But this is going to end. I am convinced. It is not optional: either we change, or we disappear. To achieve this we need leaders who inspire by example and citizens willing to recover the country from everyday life. And there are. Voices that are beginning to sound louder and louder, a force that we have not heard in years.
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Grecia Quiroz, widow of Carlos Manzo, is the best testimony. Without having finished mourning her husband or explaining to her children why their father was killed, she decided to take over as mayor to continue his legacy. “I ask that we not give up, that we continue in that fight that he would have liked so much,” he said with a dignity that thrills, that should move us.
His voice is not the only one. Little by little, from different fronts, promising leaders are beginning to emerge, willing to confront reality, to overcome the fear and silence that complicity conceal our terrible reality.
The National President of Coparmex, Juan José Sierra, was forceful: “Extortion has thousands of businessmen throughout the country on their knees and kills micro, small and medium-sized businesses. We cannot normalize fear. This is the time to correct the course. To demand a State that acts firmly and a society that accompanies with determination.” Weeks later, Congress finally approved the General Law to Prevent and Punish Extortion.
Added to this is good news: the arrival of José Medina Mora Icaza to the presidency of the Business Coordinating Council. Unlike his predecessor, Pepe is an authentic business leader, not subordinate or complacent with the government. It represents firm dialogue, responsible dialogue and a vision of the country: the Inclusive Development Model. It is paradoxical that such a proposal comes from civil society and not from the opposition parties, particularly the PAN and its leader Jorge Romero who boasted a new image, but have failed to offer a Nation proposal.
At the same time, the voices of the Bishops were raised with great moral force. Mons. Ramón Castro, president of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate, made public a historic message: “We live in difficult times: they tell us that violence has decreased, but families that mourn their loved ones live another reality; they tell us that the economy is doing well, but many families cannot fill their basic basket. Many of our brothers suffer: murders and disappearances continue… In the face of so much pain, we cannot remain silent.”
And now an unexpected generation has joined in: Generation Z, calling on children, young people and older adults to demand profound changes. We must not forget that similar movements in other countries have already overthrown governments.
Mexico is forced to transform. For years we ignored the monster as it grew in front of us. Today there is no option: we must face that giant. The problems we are experiencing require leadership, courage and, yes, even martyrs. Our country demands it. Otherwise, our children and our children’s children will continue to live condemned, victims of human misery.
It is time to decide: either we kneel forever or we stand firmly to build together the Mexico that we have always dreamed of. #OpiniónCoparmex
About the author:
*Ricardo Robles Sánchez is President of the Public Strategy and Political Proposal Committee of COPARMEX.
@ricardorobless
The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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