By Maria E. Molina
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – A federal tribunal has exonerated former President Luis Echeverría Álvarez of genocide charges stemming from a notorious massacre of student activists in 1968. Echeverria was the country’s interior secretary on Oct. 2, 1968, when soldiers opened fire on a student demonstration in Mexico City’s Tlatelolco Plaza before the capital hosted the Olympics.

A lower court previously ruled the massacre constituted genocide but dismissed charges of involvement against Echeverria.  The court, which issued its ruling late Thursday, rejected federal prosecutors’ argument that an army crackdown on unarmed student protesters fit the legal definition of genocide. It also upheld previous rulings that the 30-year statute of limitations for genocide had expired.

The collapse of this latest case is demonstrative of successive Mexican governments failure to address Mexico’s international human rights commitments. The government of President Calderon, in particular, has failed to acknowledge or address the legacy of human rights violations.

The massacre unfolded on the night of October 2, 1968, when Mexican security forces opened fire in a public area, La Plaza de las Tres Culturas at Tlatelolco. The public square was crowded with thousands of activists. When the shooting stopped, hundreds of people lay dead or wounded, as Army and police forces seized surviving protesters and dragged them away. No one knows for sure how many people were killed and to this day, no one has been punished for the crime.

Thursday’s ruling exhausted prosecutors’ legal possibilities in Mexico. It was not immediately clear whether they planned to appeal the decision to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in Costa Rica.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Violent Crime and Insecurity in Mexico Are Rooted in Legacy of Impunity and Injustice from Past, Says Amnesty International, Commenting on Court Ruling on 1968 Student Massacre – 27 March 2009

Associated Press – Mexican court upholds ruling on 1968 massacre – 27 March 2009

The Chronicle of Higher Education – Mexican Court Exonerates Former President Accused of Genocide in Student Killings – 27 March 2009