Mexican drug war capital renames itself "heroic"(Ciudad Juarez)

Reuters ^ | May 20, 2011 | Robin Emmott

[SwinneySwitch]

Mexico's most violent city, Ciudad Juarez, where more than 9,000 people have died in a horrifying drug war since 2008, is renaming itself Heroica Ciudad Juarez, or Heroic City of Juarez.

Without even a hint of irony, the Chihuahua state Congress, which legislates for Ciudad Juarez, has voted in the name change to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the border city's role in the downfall of a Mexican dictator and the revolution it fueled.

In a ceremony on Saturday due to be attended by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, state and city leaders will celebrate the city's new name as part of three weeks of festivities to mark the decisive battle on May 8, 1911 when rebels defeated troops loyal to strongman Porfirio Diaz.

The past glories contrast with the forlorn, desert city's image not just for the drug war but for the unresolved murders of hundreds of young, poor women since 1993. Ciudad Juarez's desolate streets and prison-like houses are a world away from the glittering shopping malls of El Paso, Texas, visible through the through the wire fence marking the border between the world's richest nation and its struggling southern neighbor.

"This is an alternative to the defamatory way the city has been treated," state lawmaker Enrique Serrano, who voted for the name change, told reporters this month.

It was not immediately clear if the new name will be used on maps of Mexico and on official federal documents.

The city was named by Diaz himself in honor of Mexico's most famous president, Benito Juarez, who in 1865 briefly took refuge here with his republican forces during the French invasion of the country.

[SwinneySwitch]

That ought to fix it.

[Red Badger]

A rose by any other name.................

[reagan_fanatic]

Well, that ought to change people's minds when it comes to vacation destinations.

[jakerobins]

Would probably get more visitors if they named it something like......

[blueunicorn6]

“Where more than 9,000 people have died in a horrifying drug war” - Illegal drug users in the US are cowards. They can’t deal with reality. So thousands of Mexicans die each year to fuel this cowardice.

[RightOnTheBorder]

The drug warriors who fail to admit that prohibition II has failed worse than the original have a lot of blood on their hands. The idea that people in a supposedly free society cannot decide what to put in their own bodies has caused unimaginable bloodshed and introduced the US to the police state. With so much misery to answer for, it always amazes me when a prohibitionist tries to claim the moral high ground.