How to Survive the Drug War in Ciudad Juárez

Monica Ortiz Uribe, reporter with the public radio collaboration Fronteras, speaks with host Marco Werman about what it’s like to report in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. She also describes how Juárez residents are starting to come out of their homes more, tired of living in fear.

A video produced by a civic group called Nuestro Mexico del Futuro (Our Future Mexico) is causing a big controversy in our neighbor to the south. It shows a sort of worst-case “day in the life” of Mexico, highlighting all of the country’s main problems, from pollution and petty crime to drug cartel violence and political corruption. And it does so with children playing all the roles: businessmen, corrupt politicians, cartel gunmen and victims.

The video is dubbed “Niños Incómodos,” which can be translated as “Discomforting Kids.” And it seems what many people find discomforting is the involvement of children. Some in Mexico say it’s inappropriate and bordering on child abuse. The group that produced the video defends its choice of actors, saying that kids are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of today’s problems in the country.

Others have criticized the video as a violation of the country’s electoral laws. The group “Nuestro Mexico del Futuro” is a foundation supported by private companies and universities, and it denies having a political agenda. It says it’s just trying to encourage Mexicans to share their vision for the kind of country they want to live in.

The last scene in the video is of a girl saying: “If this is the future that awaits me, I don’t want it.” Then the girl addresses the main candidates in Mexico’s July 1 presidential election. “Enough of you (politicians) working for the benefit of your parties, and not for our benefit. Enough of fixing the country’s problems just on the surface,” she says. “Time’s up. Mexico has already touched bottom. Are you just going for the (presidential) chair? Or are you going to change our country’s future?”

All three of Mexico’s main presidential candidates have reacted positively to the video. One called it “well done,” another said “I hear the same message all the time, that time’s running out.” And the third said it represents a call for change “that can’t be ignored.”

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Marco Werman: Few places in America have suffered more from drug violence than Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. At the peak of the violence there were more than 3,000 murders a year in Juarez. The murder rate has dropped a bit, but Juarez is still considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Reporter Monica Ortiz Uribe lives and works across the border from Juarez in El Paso, Texas. She’s been crossing that border and reporting on Juarez for the past four years. And Monica, who works for the public radio collaboration, Fronteras, also happens to be with us in our Boston studios this week. So a couple of years ago, 2009, 2010, that was really sort of the worst in terms of violence in Juarez, Monica. A few weeks ago you reported on a story that indicated people in Juarez are starting to go out again, almost a take back the night, not to mention the day. So what is it like in Juarez these days? Has the violence in fact calmed down?

Monica Ortiz Uribe: Yes, it has calmed down and really on its outer shell Juarez is like any normal bustling border city. I mean there’s tons of traffic on the international bridges. Same goes for the streets. People are out on their way to take their kids to school, to work, the supermarkets. A couple of years ago when the city reached its peak violence the one indication that something was off in this city were the convoys of federal police and military, and those are for the most part gone now. And really now the change in the city happens to be that people are beginning to come out of their homes, and they’re starting to go out late at night and all these clubs have turned up right near the border. There has been a shift over the past few years.

Werman: And when you go down there yourself now, Monica, do you feel safe?

Uribe: Oh, that’s a very, that’s a tricky question because it’s very easy to get comfortable when you go every day, and so far I haven’t been myself a victim of any kind of violence or even a witness to any kind of severe extreme violence. Of course, I’ve heard about it through my interviews, so no, I don’t try to take my safety for granted.

Werman: And for our listeners who don’t know the geography, orient us. Where exactly is Juarez in relation to the border? Is it right on the border?

Uribe: Yeah, I mean from my home office in El Paso I can look out the window and see the giant Mexican flag waving in the distance. It takes me about five minutes to cross into Juarez, so we’re right on top of each other.

Werman: How close to the border does the violence sometimes come?

Uribe: Well, close enough that a bullet can reach city hall in El Paso.

Werman: Really, has that happened?

Uribe: Yes, that has, that was one of three incidents. The first bullet hit city hall. I think it ended up striking a picture frame. The second one hit on a Saturday afternoon within the university. The last one struck a woman in the ankle, I think she was out shopping downtown. So that close.

Werman: Amazing. So much horror, so much violence and so much of it linked to the drug war, but the first stories as you know of violence to emerge from Juarez were the disappearances of young women and girls not necessarily linked to drug. Is that still going on?

Uribe: Well, actually, initially there were murders of young women and girls, and now what we’re seeing are disappearances of young women and girls that fit the same profile as those that were murdered years back up until recently. No bodies have turned up, so really no one knows what’s happening to these girls.

Werman: Finally, Monica, I want to ask you about something else, a video that’s caused a lot of controversy in Mexico this week. It shows children actors portraying sort of day in the life of all of Mexico’s problem that a lot of adults live through these days, from drug violence and corruption, to pollution, immigrants being smuggled across the border. And the tagline from the kids at the end is basically “If this is our future, we don’t want it.” Have you seen the video and what’s your reaction?

Uribe: Yes, yes, I just took the time to watch it this morning. I have to say it was striking. As a reporter of course I listen to these problems from the perspectives of the people that I interview, so watching it all kind of boiled in four minutes portrayed by children nonetheless was very moving. I think it’s an important video that needs to be watched and considered.

Werman: Monica Ortiz Uribe of the public radio collaboration Fronteras, thank you so much.

Uribe: Thank you.

Werman: And that video about Mexico’s future ends with a call for change from those kids to Mexico’s top politicians. It’s really powerful stuff, and you don’t need to speak Spanish to see it and understand it. You can find out more and see the video at theworld.org.

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