SAID IN SPANISH: What A Coincidence—Mexico’s Left Has Its Own George Floyd; Spain’s VOX Party Strongly Supports Trump’s “Iron Hand;” ETC. [4 ITEMS]
06/08/2020
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Mexico’s Excelsior: “White Supremacists” Instigate Rioting. $PLC Cited…But, Surprisingly, Doesn’t Agree

When I saw an article in Excelsior unsubtly headlined “U.S. Cop Smashes Neck of Afro-American and Kills Him,” I knew I better save it for future reference [Policía de EU aplasta del cuello a afroamericano y lo mata, May 26, 2020].   Sure enough, it was a topic I was going to hear a lot about. 

On June 6, this appeared at the newspaper’s website:

Since the protests over the death of George Floyd began last week, more than 1,600 extremist groups, the majority of them white supremacist, have been identified. They commit acts of vandalism to harm the Afro-American community, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

In various cities of the country the demonstrators have accused young, seemingly solitary whites of burning patrol cars and carrying out acts of vandalism, after which they disappear before the police can find them. Authorities in Minneapolis officially identified white infiltrator instigators as having committed crimes. In Chicago, a white “militia member” was documented as the person who activated explosives at a court. ...

[SPLC] currently monitors more than 1,600 extremist and racist groups in the United States, many of which could operate to discredit the mobilization for the rights of blacks and to criminalize the protests.

[Mil 600 extremistas instigan disturbios; protestas por George Floyd (“One Thousand Six Hundred Extremists Instigate Disturbances at Protests for George Floyd”), by Manuel Ocano, Excelsior, June 6, 2020] 

Here’s the problem. Aside from the first paragraph, which conflates the number of “hate groups” that $PLC supposedly monitors with the number of “white supremacist” groups supposedly trying to blacken the reputation of innocent protestors, SPLC hasn’t said “white infiltrators” are instigating anything.

Craven Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat of course, suggested the possibility of white supremacist infiltrators.

But not the $PLC, says a surprisingly even-handed piece in the New York Times:

“I have not seen any clear evidence that white supremacists or militiamen are masking up and going out to burn and loot,” $PLC’s Howard Graves admitted.

[Many Claim Extremists Are Sparking Protest Violence. But Which Extremists?, by Neil MacFarquhar, May 31, 2020—updated June 4, 2020]

A few days later, $PLC’s Hatewatch still didn’t have evidence of right-wing provocateurs, although it tries to imply it did: President Trump Uses Tear Gas, Threats of Military Force; Hate Groups Respond With Glee, June 3, 2020.

In other words, Excelsior mashed together $PLC boilerplate with accusations from public officials floating around cyberspace.

My guess: Many Mexican readers want to believe this—and even get a sick thrill out of it.

Just like the American Left.

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Mexican Left Protests Deaths Of George Floyd—And Giovanni Lopez

This sort of journalism is helping fuel the global riot campaign, including in Mexico, which has its own case of police brutality that left a man dead.

On May 4, 10 cops in Ixtlahuacán, about 25 miles south of Guadalajara, detained Giovanni Lopez [La muerte de un hombre en custodia policial indigna a México (“Death of a man in police custody outrages Mexico”), by Jose Pablo Criales, El Pais, June 4, 2020].

Initial reports said Lopez was detained for not wearing a coronavirus mask. Then the public learned cops detained him for a mere “administrative offense” (such as public drunkenness or making too much noise) although he, like George Floyd, resisted arrest.

A blow to the head while he was in custody killed him, and he also had a bullet in his left foot.

Authorities promised the family an investigation. But nothing much happened—until the publicity about Floyd’s death in the United States.

The family says the local mayor offered 200,000 pesos for them not to publicize the video recorded by Lopez’s brother and they were even threatened over it. But the video went viral on June 3.

Next day, “hundreds of demonstrators” went to the Jalisco state capitol building in Guadalajara. They scrawled graffiti on the building, burned police cars, set a policeman on fire, and tried to storm the building. Police dispersed them with tear gas [La muerte a golpes de un hombre desata de nuevo la indignación en México por la brutalidad de la policía (“The Death Of A Man Beaten To Death Unleashes Indignation In Mexico For Police Brutality”), by Pablo Ferri, El País, June 5, 2020].

Twenty-six demonstrators were detained [Detienen a 26 personas durante manifestación por Giovanni (“26 people arrested during demonstration for Giovanni”), Milenio, June 5, 2020].

Authorities have arrested three cops in connection with the death [3 Mexican police officers arrested for alleged beating death, by Maria Verza, the Associated Press, June 5, 2020].

On June 6, a big protest that aspired to cover all the bases erupted in Mexico City. Marchers protested at the U.S. embassy about Floyd, then went to the building that houses Jalisco’s government representatives to protest the death of Lopez. Looting and vandalism ensued. Police sent a 16-year-old girl to the hospital with a beating [No se tolerará el abuso policial: Sheinbaum sobre agresión a adolescente (“Police Abuse Will Not be Tolerated: Sheinbaum”), by Wendy Roa, Excelsior, June 6, 2020].

And, on June 8, there was more protest, looting and vandalism.

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Spain’s VOX Party Support’s Trump’s “Iron Hand”

President Trump is under fire from all sides these days because of the Antifa-Black-Lives-Matter riots, but he’s receiving strong support from Spain’s right-wing Vox party

The newspaper El País, no fan of Trump, put it this way:

Donald Trump is defending “order and civilization” in a “world conflict” against a movement paid for by the “great financial conglomerates.” Thus spoke Jorge Buxade, spokesman for Vox.  At a time when the US president faces widespread criticism for his strong-arm policy in the face of anti-racist protests and even the head of the Pentagon has disavowed his threat to deploy the Army. The Spanish party has become his [Trump’s] enthusiastic defender in contrast to the caution of other far-right European leaders.

[Vox encabeza el apoyo de la extrema derecha europea a la mano dura de Trump (“Vox Leads The Support Of The European Extreme Right For The Iron Hand Of Trump”), by Miguel Gonzalez, El País, June 6, 2020]

Iron Hand? Many of us think Trump hasn’t been hard enough. But his refusal to surrender is a strike against him at El País. It went on:

[V]ox showed its express support for “Trump and the Americans who are watching their nation being attacked by street terrorists supported by millionaire progressive in a tweet with the hashtag #SpainSupportsTrump. …

[Vox leader Santiago] Abascal has shown himself to be convinced that “all the violence that has spread in the United States and other parts of the world is orchestrated by globalism.” For Buxadé, it is a “world battle” in defense of “order and civilization.”

Wow!

It’s great to have some support from kindred souls across the Atlantic.

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Coronavirus Still A Migration Problem

As if the riots aren’t bad enough, the Chinese Virus pandemic is still a problem, not least for “migrants,” which means it’s a problem for us at the border.

Tomas Diosdado, director of the Alfa and Omega migrant shelter of Mexicali in Baja California, reported that he and 14 foreigners contracted the virus while awaiting asylum paperwork and that health workers denied them medical care [Reportan brote de covid-19 en albergue para migrantes de Mexicali (“Outbreak of COVID-19 Reported in Mexicali Migrant Shelter”), by Said Betanzos, Milenio, June 3, 2020].

Mexicali is across the border from Calexico, California.

The border should stay closed to all non-essential traffic.

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American citizen Allan Wall (email him) moved back to the U.S.A. in 2008 after many years residing in Mexico. Allan's wife is Mexican, and their two sons are bilingual. In 2005, Allan served a tour of duty in Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM articles are archived here; his Mexidata.info articles are archived here; his News With Views columns are archived here; and his website is here.

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