Democracy on the Hacienda

Dark Presidential Campaigns and the Criminalization of Social Protest: The Recent Cases of Mexico and Colombia

In a speech given during the Other Campaign on January 9 in Tonalá, Chiapas, Zapatista Insurgent Subcomandante Marcos spoke of the consequences of the “civilized, decent and peaceful path of elections” within the Mexico’s current social and political scenario.

Oh, please, Subcomandante! Don’t be so presumptuous. Here in Colombia, right now, we are also going down the “civilized, decent and peaceful path of elections” (please remember, kind readers, that this is the country with the oldest democracy in Latin America). You can believe it: the spirit of “democracy,” democracy for the most select members of Colombian society’s conservative political class, can be felt in the air.
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