Discussion of murders of women in Ciudad Juarez

Today, there’s an article about the problem of impunity in the murder of women in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas in La Jornada. The problem is that hundreds of (primarily) young women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez over the last decade, and no one has been able to solve the mystery. Bodies are left in the desert.

In all likelihood, the murders are a combination of a serial killer, domestic violence victims, and other copycats. I’ve heard that it’s common for men to threaten their wives by saying they’ll take them to the desert and no one will ever figure out what happened. No doubt many killers use the m.o. of all the other murders to hide their crimes of passion or for profit. (Someone I spoke with recently said that some people think that some of the killings are the result of a ‘sport’ played by young men from prominent Mexican families. It’s clear how so many murders has created suspicion and distrust.)

According to the article cited above, one of the first steps to solving these crimes and bringing he perpetrators to justices will be to reweave the social fabric. While this may be true, I’m not optimistic about the prospects.

In other news, labor law reforms are being derailed.