Tuesday - Bloody Tuesday

Tuesday afternoon, when rumors of alleged kidnappings, bombing of schools and malls being raided flowed throughout the city, people were in a state of panic.  Many businesses shut down.

It's believed that organized crime, and some political players are at the heart of these rumors.  Their purpose is to destabilize society and create an element of fear within the citizenry of Chihuahua.

I've done my part with my students to quell their fears, drawing diagrams of the good guys and the bad guys.  "Yes, it's true,"  I say.  "There are bad guys within the police, and we don't know which police are the bad guys.  But, if we are here and the bad guys and the army and police are over there, there's a good chance we are all going to be o-kay."

Then I tell them about the grow-up problem in my old neighborhood.  Reminding them I'm Canadian.  People in Chihuahua think Canada is peaceful.  I let them know the bad guys live in Canada too.  They laugh, and a little tension leaves the room.

But, there were also twelve murders in the state on Tuesday.

Tuesday - bloody Tuesday.

Within the last hour a grenade was found under  bridge in downtown Chihuahua.  It didn't go off, and it couldn't go off.  Something about its fuselage, but it is yet another event that creates fear.

The federal government is PAN, the political party in power in the state of Chihuahua is PRI.  On Tuesday there was a lot of finger pointing from both parties.