The 1960s will be long remembered as a time of world wide student protest. In Mexico the student agitation started small—first at universities in Morelia and Sonora, than at a preparatory high schools, then major universities. The culmination was a march in Mexico City to the Zócalo which took place August 27, 1968.

Since it was the year the olympic games were to be held in Mexico City in October, Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz was determined that nothing should interfere with Mexico’s image to the world as an orderly, first class nation. President Díaz Ordaz was a complicated man, who by many reports was neurotic and paranoid--and, in addition, physically unattractive. He ordered the police to suppress any dissent, and directed newspapers not to report acts of civil disobedience.

Álamos resident Vicki Lockwood was a student at the University of Mexico during that period. She had chosen to study in Mexico for two reasons: she wanted to gain fluency in the language, and she wanted an adventure. Both desires were met! She lived in the Polanco district and learned of the massive student rebellion on October 2 while taking a bus to class. There were no cars on the street, a few buses, and many tanks. From balconies people threw boiling water, garbage, and flower pots on the police below.

Her bus was stopped and the passengers on board were taken into police custody under the auspices of the Dissenters Law; fortunately, Vicki had her U.S. passport with her. The students were put in paddy wagons and hauled off, and many witnessed the beatings. Thousands were arrested and more than 400 were hospitalized.

The press carried almost no coverage of the dissent during those days in October prior to, and during, the Olympic games. By presidential order the press could cover ONLY the athletic events, but outside of Mexico there was international discussion of the protests. The Italian government made an official protest, and poet Octavio Paz, then the Mexican Ambassador to India, spoke out again the government, the PRI party, and the influence of the Catholic church. He resigned his post in protest of the actions of the government.

While the 1968 Olympic games are known for one great athletic achievement—Bob Beamon’s dramatic long jump which broke the world’s record by nearly two feet--the symbol most remembered is the black gloved protest given by U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the medal stand as the U.S. national anthem was played.

Many aspects of the Mexico City student massacre have still not been told. Mexican journalist Elena Poniatowska wrote La Noche de Tlatelolco, composed of interviews with arrested leaders, eye witnesses, and the families of students who had been killed. President Díaz Ordaz died in 1979 and was never held accountable, but President Luis Echevierría, who served in the Díaz Ordaz government and became president in 1970, was called to testify in court in 2002. No government leader on any level was convicted, however.

Vicki Lockwood said that while the court cases in the years after the student revolt have not led to convictions, they have no doubt moved the country toward a more open democracy.