Rest in Peace, Víctor Manuel. Rest in Peace, Carlos Manzo

 

Rest in Peace, Víctor Manuel. Rest in Peace, Carlos Manzo

On the Political and Human Tragedy of Carlos Manzo’s Death

Notes from the Ground

 

Dr. Lenin Torres Antonio

 

The petty opposition political class in Mexico -petty not in stature but in mindset- alongside the disoriented political class currently in power, has engaged in a sterile and absurd debate following the treacherous assassination of Uruapan’s mayor, Carlos Manzo. Each side accuses the other: some claim that the Mexican government has become a narco-state; others respond that the current insecurity is a direct legacy of the PRIAN governments, responsible for sowing the seeds of violence that have plagued us for over three presidential terms.

 

This grave issue dates back to the administration of former President Felipe Calderón, who, lacking a sound strategy and obeying the dictates of our northern neighbors, believed that military force and the fragile security apparatus of the Mexican state would suffice to halt the flow of drugs into the United States. At that time, Mexicans had not yet been terrorized by the violence unleashed by drug trafficking. However, with the onset of the so-called “war on drugs” initiated by the aforementioned PAN president, criminal groups fragmented, giving rise to new forms of violence that now ravage our society: extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, among others.

 

This madness that grips Mexico -where violence has become normalized and is still seen, regrettably, as a problem solely for the Mexican state rather than for all Mexicans- cannot be resolved as long as it continues to be wielded as a political weapon to discredit opponents.

 

Carlos Manzo’s death is one among countless unjustifiable deaths that should never have occurred, yet they form part of the Mexican condition. They are even inscribed within a cultural vision that pushes the boundaries of reason, where the celebration of death has moved beyond the symbolic and folkloric to construct glorified deities that are worshipped, such as Santa Muerte. The morbid and ominous fascination with death has led to schizoid and perverse behaviors, where the infamous methods of Pablo Escobar’s Colombia -like car bombs- pale in comparison to the forms of torture and murder now witnessed in the virtual world.

 

We now see, for instance, a female assassin slicing off her victim’s face and wearing it to assume their identity and power; or another sicario devouring the heart of someone who, before dying, was subjected to unspeakable tortures -all to leave a personal mark and reinforce a message of terror to their enemies.

 

Carlos Manzo’s Death Glorified by the Perverse PRIAN Opposition and Media Conglomerates

 

Carlos Manzo’s death has been glorified by the perverse PRIAN -aligned opposition and by major media conglomerates, who exploit it to discredit the federal government and portray it as the sole culprit. In doing so, they attempt to erase from public memory the historical collusion between PRIAN governments -especially that of Felipe Calderón- and drug trafficking. In this narrative, the case of former Security Secretary Genaro García Luna becomes a trivial anecdote, no longer deemed worthy of mention.

 

In this context, we witness the theatrical interventions of PAN senator-at-large Lilly Téllez, who, without even knowing the full name of the slain Uruapan mayor, launches into a tirade of poor rhetoric -more insult than argument. Her objective is transparent: to weaponize Carlos Manzo’s assassination as a political tool to discredit President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration.

 

President Sheinbaum has inherited the grave crisis of violence and insecurity caused by organized crime and drug trafficking. She has understood that, beyond addressing the social and psychological roots of violence, intelligent security strategies must be implemented. However, she can rightly be criticized for not yet realizing that unless the issue of insecurity is transformed into an inclusive national agenda, no strategy -be it social, policing, or moral- will suffice to resolve it.

The irreconcilable political extremes -and I speak of politics, not physics- driven by ignorance and spiritual emptiness, achieve nothing but to expose, if they could, even Carlos Manzo’s corpse in public squares to gain approval ratings. That is all the Mexican right truly cares about: returning to their damned power. On the other hand, the ruling party seeks to downplay Manzo’s death as much as possible, hoping it will go unnoticed and not affect the 2027 elections.

 

Both stances are aberrant and pathological—though the right’s is even more so. During its years out of power, it has systematically waged a dirty media war against those in office: first against AMLO, and now against Claudia Sheinbaum. They do so without acknowledging their direct responsibility for Mexico’s security crisis, and without understanding that electoral competition is impossible without a national project or a willingness to shoulder the burdens of the social crises still afflicting Mexican society- violence, poverty, and more.

 

The Death of Víctor Manuel: The Forgotten Tragedy

 

We saw Lilly Téllez and other dark and deranged figures from the PRIAN-aligned opposition and media tear their garments in public, as if they truly mourned the loss of Carlos Manzo.

 

They repeat the issue of insecurity like a mantra, hoping to destroy the new occupants of the National Palace or to provoke a social uprising that would return them to political power- as I noted in the previous text(1).

 

But neither a social uprising nor a return to the National Palace will occur as long as the PRIAN remains the same old force, merely disguised now as democratic and fierce defenders of the rule of law.

 

Everyone speaks of Carlos Manzo, as I said before, exalting his image as a fallen “super cop,” turned martyr and redeemer -especially by the opposition. But no one speaks of, nor seems to mourn, the death of Víctor Manuel, identified as the material perpetrator of Manzo’s assassination. Víctor was a 17-year-old boy who, instead of wielding a weapon, should have been attending high school, preparing for a professional future, enjoying healthy social life with his peers -playing soccer, going to parties, falling in love, studying in the library for his exams. He should have been part of Mexico’s future- cared for, respected, and loved not only by his family and friends, but by all adults responsible for protecting the new generations who will build a better country.

 

But that is not the case. Today, he is a statistic. He has been labeled a hitman in the service of organized crime, superficially branded as “the bad guy.” No one mourns him; his death provokes neither reflection nor sorrow among politicians, nor even among society at large. Who grieves for Víctor’s death? Does his life not matter? Not even the so-called thinkers, intellectuals, academics, or the Church have prayed for his soul or for his rest in peace.

 

The “villain” of the story has been so thoroughly stigmatized that only Carlos Manzo’s death is discussed as a political tragedy, without recognizing that Víctor Manuel’s death is, in truth, a human tragedy -one that reflects the Mexico we live in today. No one addresses it, nor seems to care, except to feed the morbid curiosity: how he was gunned down by Manzo’s security forces, who failed to save “their boss” but at least managed to kill the material perpetrator.

 

The Death of Young Víctor: The True Tragedy

 

The death of young Víctor is the true tragedy. It is the tip of the iceberg of the glorification and mystification of violence and crime in Mexico. It reflects how new generations are being lost in the exaltation of violence promoted by neoliberal cultural industries—such as video games—that satisfy sexual and aggressive impulses but fail to prevent the crossing into the real, as happens with thousands of young people drawn into the world of contract killing.

 

(1) https://ejemplomx.com/carlos-manzo-una-muerte-anunciada/