Mexico cries out over cartels’ power

Carlos Manzo blazed a maverick path as he battled both cartels and what he called skimpy federal support for his crusade against organized crime in his hometown of Uruapan, in western Mexico.

- By Patricx J. MCDONNELL

EDUARDO VERDUGO Associated Press THE COFFIN of Carlos Manzo, the slain mayor of Uruapan, Mexico, is carried through the city Nov. 2.

The “man with a hat,” after his signature white sombrero, was an annoyance to the power structure in Mexico City, but beloved among many constituents for his uncompromising stance against the ruthless mobs that hold sway in much of the country.

“They can kill me, they can abduct me, they can intimidate or threaten me,” the outspoken Manzo declared on social media in June. “But the people who are sick of extortion, of homicides, of car thefts — they will demand justice.”

He added, “There is an enraged tiger out there — the people of Uruapan.”

That rage was on dramatic display last week, as tens of thousands marched in the streets of Uruapan and elsewhere in violence-plagued Michoacán state to denounce the slaying of Manzo, 40. He was gunned down Nov. 1 amid a crowd of revelers, including his family, at a Day of the Dead celebration, in a killing that reverberated nationwide and beyond.

PAINTED HATS were used by PRI legislators during a session in Mexico City to condemn Manzo's killing.

(LUIS BARRON Eyepix Group / Sipa)

The assassinations of other public figures in recent years have also triggered outrage and dismay in the country, but Manzo’s death has unleashed something else: A divisive aftermath that has seen many questioning Mexico's very ability to confront the rampaging cartels in places like Michoacan, where organized crime has a forceful grip on government, the economy and people’s daily lives.