'68 : the Mexican autumn of the Tlatelolco massacre

In Mexico City on the night of October 2, 1968, at least two hundred students—among thousands protesting election fraud and campaigning for university reform—were shot dead in a bloody showdown with government troops in Tlatelolco Square. The bodies were collected and trucked away and the cobblestones washed clean. Hundreds more were arrested, and imprisoned for years. To this day, no one has been held accountable for the acts of savagery and these events are nowhere to be found in official histories. One member of the student movement that was crushed that night, Paco Taibo, would become an international literary figure. ’68is his account of the events of October 2, and of the student movement that preceded them. In provocative, anecdotal prose, Taibo claims for history “one more of the many unredeemed and sleepless ghosts that live in our lands.” "A firsthand account of the shocking Tlatelolco Massacre, still denied by the Mexican government. In Mexico City on the night of October 2, 1968, at least two hundred students--among thousands protesting election fraud and campaigning for university reform--were shot dead in a bloody showdown with government troops in Tlatelolco Square. Hundreds more were arrested, and imprisoned for years. Yet these events are nowhere to be found in official histories: that very night the bodies were collected and trucked away and the cobblestones washed clean, and government denial of all involvement began. To this day no one has been held accountable for the official acts of savagery. One member of the crowd that night, Paco Taibo, would become an international literary figure; '68 is his account of the events of October 2, and of the student movement that preceded them, in the first English-language translation, with a new epilogue by the author. In provocative, anecdotal prose, Taibo here claims for history "one more of the many unredeemed and sleepless ghosts that live in our lands.""-- Provided by publisher "A firsthand account of the shocking Tlatelolco Massacre, still denied by the Mexican government. In Mexico City on the night of October 2, 1968, at least two hundred students--among thousands protesting election fraud and campaigning for university reform--were shot dead in a bloody showdown with government troops in Tlatelolco Square. Hundreds more were arrested, and imprisoned for years. Yet these events are nowhere to be found in official histories: that very night the bodies were collected and trucked away and the cobblestones washed clean, and government denial of all involvement began. To this day no one has been held accountable for the official acts of savagery. One member of the crowd that night, Paco Taibo, would become an international literary figure; '68 is his account of the events of October 2, and of the student movement that preceded them, available for the first time in English, with a new epilogue by the author. In provocative, anecdotal prose, Taibo here claims for history "one more of the many unredeemed and sleepless ghosts that live in our lands.""-- Provided by publisher On the night of October 2, 1968, there occurred a bloody showdown between student demonstrators and the Mexican government in Tlatelolco Square. At least two hundred students were shot dead and many more were detained. Then the bodies were trucked out, the cobblestones were washed clean. Detainees were held without recourse until 1971. Official denial of the killing continues even today: In the first week of February 2003, Mexico's Education Secretary Reyes Tamiz ordered a new history textbook that mentions the massacre-Claudia Sierra's History of Mexico: An Analytical Approach-removed from shelves and classrooms. (Public outcry led Tamiz to reverse his decision days later.) No one has yet been held accountable for the official acts of savagery. With provocative, anecdotal, and analytical prose, Taibo claims for history "one more of the many unredeemed and sleepless ghosts that live in our lands."