Abrazos, no balazos

Last updated

"Abrazos, no balazos" is a Spanish-language anti-war slogan, commonly translated as "Hugs, not bullets" (though "balazo" is more literally "gunshot"), and often compared to the English "Make love, not war". The slogan was initially associated with the Chicano counterculture of the 1960s, and figured prominently in the Mexican-American anti-war movement, as a slogan in opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. [1] [2]

It later became more broadly used throughout Mexican and Mexican-American culture. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 65th President of Mexico, used the slogan to describe his security policy during the campaign season of the 2012 Mexican general election. [3] The general idea being that he would seek to reduce the escalating violence of the drug cartels, as well as "moralize" police forces widely seen as brutal and corrupt within the context of the Mexican drug war. [4] [5] [6] [7]

The city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas implemented a policy based on the slogan in an attempt to reduce violent crime. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tijuana Cartel</span> Criminal organization based in Tijuana, Mexico

The Tijuana Cartel or Arellano-Félix-Cartel is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Founded by the Arellano-Félix family, the cartel once was described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico". However, since the 2006 Sinaloa Cartel incursion in Baja California and the fall of the Arellano-Félix brothers, the Tijuana Cartel has been reduced to a few cells. In 2016, the organization became known as Cartel Tijuana Nueva Generación and began to align itself under the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, along with Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO) to create an anti-Sinaloa alliance, in which the Jalisco New Generation Cartel heads. This alliance has since dwindled as the Tijuana, Jalisco New Generation, and Sinaloa cartels all now battle each other for trafficking influence in the city of Tijuana and the region of Baja California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoot suit</span> Mens suit style of the 1940s

A zoot suit is a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. It is most notable for its use as a cultural symbol among the Hepcat and Pachuco subcultures. Originating among African Americans it would later become popular with Mexican, Filipino, Italian, and Japanese Americans in the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrés Manuel López Obrador</span> President of Mexico since 2018

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico City from 2000 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicano rap</span> Music genre

Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of Southwest Mexican American or Chicano culture. It is typically performed by rappers and musicians of Mexican descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicano Moratorium</span> Anti-Vietnam War movement organized by Mexican-American activist groups (1960s-70s)

The Chicano Moratorium, formally known as the National Chicano Moratorium Committee Against The Vietnam War, was a movement of Chicano anti-war activists that built a broad-based coalition of Mexican-American groups to organize opposition to the Vietnam War. Led by activists from local colleges and members of the Brown Berets, a group with roots in the high school student movement that staged walkouts in 1968, the coalition peaked with a August 29, 1970 march in East Los Angeles that drew 30,000 demonstrators. The march was described by scholar Lorena Oropeza as "one of the largest assemblages of Mexican Americans ever." It was the largest anti-war action taken by any single ethnic group in the USA. It was second in size only to the massive U.S. immigration reform protests of 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Make love, not war</span> Anti-war slogan

"Make love, not war" is an anti-war slogan commonly associated with the American counterculture of the 1960s. It was used primarily by those who were opposed to the Vietnam War, but has been invoked in other anti-war contexts since, around the world. The "Make love" part of the slogan often referred to the practice of free love that was growing among the American youth who denounced marriage as a tool for those who supported war and favored the traditional capitalist culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicano Movement</span> Social and political movement combating racism in the United States

The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento, was a social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano/a identity and worldview that combated structural racism, encouraged cultural revitalization, and achieved community empowerment by rejecting assimilation. Chicanos also expressed solidarity and defined their culture through the development of Chicano art during El Movimiento, and stood firm in preserving their religion.

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their expertise to advance drug policy and criminal justice solutions that enhance public safety. The organization is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War. As of April 2017

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Cárdenas</span> American politician (born 1963)

Antonio Cárdenas is an American politician who has served as the United States representative for California's 29th congressional district since January 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican drug war</span> War between Mexicos government and various drug trafficking syndicates

The Mexican drug war is an ongoing asymmetric low-intensity conflict between the Mexican government and various drug trafficking syndicates. When the Mexican military intervened in 2006, the government's main objective was to reduce drug-related violence. The Mexican government has asserted that their primary focus is dismantling the cartels and preventing drug trafficking. The conflict has been described as the Mexican theater of the global war on drugs, as led by the United States federal government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mérida Initiative</span> Security cooperation agreement

The Mérida Initiative, also called Plan Mexico, is a security cooperation agreement among the United States, the government of Mexico, and the countries of Central America. With the declared aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering, assistance between the countries includes training, equipment and intelligence.

The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) is an ongoing protest movement that began on 28 March 2011 in response to the Mexican Drug War, government and corporate corruption, regressive economic policies, and growing economic inequality and poverty. The protests were called by Mexican poet Javier Sicilia in response to the death of his son in Cuernavaca. The protesters have called for an end to the Drug War, the legalization of drugs, and the removal of then-President of Mexico Felipe Calderón. Protests have occurred in over 40 Mexican cities, including an estimated 50,000 in Cuernavaca and 20,000 in Mexico City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in El Salvador</span> Overview of crime in El Salvador

Crime in El Salvador has been historically extremely high due to the presence of various gangs. As of 2011, there were an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador; with another 43,500 in prison. The best-known gangs, called maras in colloquial Salvadoran Spanish, are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and their rivals 18th Street; maras are hunted by death squads, including Sombra Negra. Newer rivals include the rising mara, The Rebels 13. El Salvador is one of the three countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America, along with neighboring Guatemala and Honduras, which are all afflicted with high levels of violence.

The security policy of the Enrique Peña Nieto administration that governed Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018 prioritized the reduction of violence rather than attacking Mexico's drug trafficking organizations head-on, marking a departure from the strategy of the previous six years during Felipe Calderón's administration. Peña Nieto has set up a number of conceptual and organizational changes from the past regime policy, and one of the biggest contrasts is the focus on lowering murder rates, kidnappings, and extortions, as opposed to arresting or killing the country's most-wanted drug lords and intercepting their drug shipments. The government of Calderón, however, has justified its position by stating that the current violence in the country is a necessary stage in Mexico's drug war, as weakening criminal groups fight for territorial control against one another and the government. Moreover, part of Peña Nieto's strategy also consists on the creation of a national police made up of 40,000 members, known as a "gendarmerie." He also proposed on centralizing the sub-federal police forces under one command. The president-elect emphasized that he does not support the involvement or presence of armed U.S. agents in Mexico, but considers allowing the United States to instruct Mexico's military training in counterinsurgency tactics. Beyond that, Peña Nieto promised that no other measures will be taken by the U.S. in Mexico. While campaigning, Peña Nieto appointed a former general of the National Police of Colombia as his external advisor for public security, and boldly promised to reduce 50% of the murder rates in Mexico by the end of his six-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvador Cienfuegos</span> Mexican army officer and politician (born 1948)

Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda is a retired Mexican Army officer. He served as the Secretary of National Defense in the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto from 2012 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Mexico</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Mexico has permeated several segments of society – political, economic, and social – and has greatly affected the country's legitimacy, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. Many of these dimensions have evolved as a product of Mexico's legacy of elite, oligarchic consolidation of power and authoritarian rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morena (political party)</span> Mexican political party

MORENA is a major Mexican left-wing political party. It is described as an anti-neoliberal and populist party. It is the ruling party of Mexico since 2018. As of 2023, it is the largest political party in Mexico by number of members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador</span> Presidential administration of Mexico from 2018 to present

The Presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador began on 1 December 2018, when he became the 65th President of Mexico. Andrés Manuel López Obrador overcame Ricardo Anaya, José Antonio Meade, and Jaime Rodriguez Calderon in a landslide election on 1 July 2018. His election was the first since 1988 that a president-elect's political party has also won the outright majority in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. He was 65 at the time of his inauguration, making him the oldest man to become President of Mexico.

The Fourth Transformation refers to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's 2018 campaign promise to do away with privileged abuses that had plagued Mexico in decades past. López Obrador defined the first three transformations as the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the Reform War (1858–1861) and the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917).

The Battle of Doctor Coss was an armed conflict in Mexico between the Gulf Cartel and the Los Zetas-Northeast Cartel in the municipality of Doctor Coss, Nuevo León. The confrontation was one of the most serious in the region, disputed by both cartels due to their proximity to border municipalities of the neighboring state of Tamaulipas.

References

  1. Oropeza, Lorena (2005). ¡Raza Si! ¡Guerra No!: Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Viet Nam War Era. University of California Press. p. 161. ISBN   9780520241954 . Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  2. Grams, Ashley (2020-09-29). "Journalism professor uses art to reconnect with Chicano roots". The Chimes. Biola University . Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  3. "Mexico's presidential front-runner, AMLO, doesn't want to escalate the drug war". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  4. Shoichet, Catherine E. (24 June 2012). "Mexican election could mean drug war strategy shift, U.S. officials say". CNN . Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  5. Hayden, Tom (2012-07-11). "Mexico's Election: A Vote for Peace, a Plan for War". The Nation . Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  6. Linthicum, Kate (2019-01-31). "Mexico's president announces 'special plan' to combat violence in Tijuana". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles . Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  7. McCormick, Gladys; Sandin, Linnea (2019-12-13). "'Abrazos no Balazos'—Evaluating AMLO's Security Initiatives". Center for Strategic and International Studies . Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  8. Espinoza, J. Noel (31 Dec 2002). "Stray bullets from New Year's gunfire could be fatal, officials say: TRADITION". The Monitor (Texas) . p. 28. Retrieved 7 Apr 2023.