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46 Dead Mexican Toddlers: Sacrificed on the Altar of Neoliberalism
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Jun 22, 2009 02:30am |
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| Category | Opinion |
| Author | John Ross |
| News Date | Friday, June 19, 2009 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Words are powerless to describe the unspeakable horror that engulfed the working class "Y" colony in the northern Mexican desert city of Hermosillo June 5th when a grubby industrial warehouse that had been rented out as a day care center burst into flames trapping over 100 toddlers inside.
With the emergency exits blocked, no fire extinguishers on the premises, and defective smoke and fire alarms, neighbors frantically fought to rescue their children. One brave young man repeatedly slammed his pick-up into the front wall to open an escape hatch - he was later cited for inflicting property damage. 57 youngsters were carried out of the ABC Day Care Center alive. 41 were not, most of them burned beyond recognition in their cribs and cots. 26 of the children rescued remain hospitalized in grave condition - five more have since died. In one heartbreaking incident, a surviving child's face was so badly disfigured that her parents did not recognize her and she was given to another family whose own child had burned up in the conflagration.
Preliminary investigation into the tragedy point to gross negligence by the authorities, the collusion of federal and Sonora state government officials, and influence trafficking on the part of the three listed owners, one of whom is a cousin of Margarita Zavala, the wife of Mexican president Felipe Calderon.
The privatization of government day care centers under Calderon and his right-wing predecessor Vicente Fox graphically underscores how neo-liberalism dilutes safety standards and sacrifices children's lives to boost profit margins. |
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