Civilian Uprisings Against Crime Gangs in a Mexican State - by Frances Garnett

In Tepalcatepec, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, there have been armed civilian uprisings where the citizens have actually taken control over the region's towns after being controlled by an organized crime gang, the Knights of Templar, for seven years, and before that being a spot with many drug trafficking groups. The Knights of Templar stolen a lot of iron ore and taxed it, making about sixty million dollars a month. This group has been also controlling the government in that area for some time, and victimized the people there as well. The merchants there said that they would either cut your head off or run you out of town if you didn't pay them. The accountants working for the gang require high amounts of tax on vehicles, housing, harvested fruit and profits of store owners. But, the residents saw that the catalyst for the uprising was their abductions of young girls, and how they would also get them pregnant. Jose Manuel Mireles, a physician started Tepalcatepec's self-defense group in February, and other groups have also arisen. They're now armed with several kinds of weapons, more than half of them taken from the crime group. Around five thousand civilians have joined the group, even knowing that it is illegal, and it may remain that way until the authorities "hand over" the leaders of the Knights Templar. It's been acknowledged that it might be years before the groups dissolve. In the "liberated" areas, mayors accused of working with the gang have also fled.

I don't really know who wrote the article, but I think they are trying to influence the audience so that they'll think that while this is possibly the only option available to the people of the region, it is not really a success story, because it's just replacing one illegally armed group with another. I agree with the writer, because I believe that violence is never the answer, but I also hope that this will spark a change in the government to make it less corrupt, so the people won't have to defend themselves like this anymore. After all, throughout history revolutions and uprisings have brought about (sometimes good, but usually productive) changes, and though this is not one of those, it is still a step in the right direction. From this article, we can draw the conclusion that something needs to be done about Mexico's current state, not just to eliminate armed groups, but also to bring justice to the people.

Source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/11/208200/vigilantes-weary-of-crime-gangs.html