Luis Donaldo Colosio
Encyclopedia
Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta (February 10, 1950 – March 23, 1994) was a Mexican
politician, and PRI
presidential candidate, who was assassinated
at a campaign rally in Tijuana
during the Mexican Presidential campaign of 1994.
, Sonora
, Colosio Murrieta was the descendant of 16th century Italian
immigrants to New Spain
who settled down in the rural territories of the northwest, in the modern state of Sonora
. Colosio Murrieta studied at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, better known by its initials ITESM, after which he joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI) in 1972. After that he went on to do postgraduate studies at University of Pennsylvania
in the USA
and research work at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria
before returning to Mexico. In 1979 he joined the Ministry of Budget and Planning under future president Carlos Salinas
.
He was elected to Congress
as the federal deputy
for his home town in 1985 and, in 1987, he was selected to serve on the PRI's National Executive Committee. In 1988 Carlos Salinas chose him as the campaign manager for his (successful, although suspicious) presidential campaign. In the same election, Colosio was elected to the Senate
, representing Sonora.
In the early years of Salinas's presidency, Colosio served as the chairman of their party's National Executive Committee
. In 1992, Salinas chose him to serve in his cabinet, in the newly created position of Social Development Secretary. In November 1993, the PRI announced that Colosio was to be its candidate for the upcoming presidential election.
's negotiations with the EZLN
guerrillas, Colosio appeared to get the traditional support of the political machine of the PRI. Like all the PRI's previous presidential candidates, he was greeted by large crowds throughout his presidential campaign, although the PRI's waning popularity meant some reduction in enthusiasm. Since Mexico's constitution permits presidents to remain in power for only one term, and as an extralegal rule presidents (until Salinas) handpicked their own successors (the party's first primary election
in history took place in 1999), Colosio apparently enjoyed the president's favour, expressed in his famous declaration No se hagan bolas: el candidato es Colosio ("Don't get confused: Colosio is the candidate" would be an appropriate translation, literally it means "Don't entangle yourselves: Colosio is the candidate").
Salinas' declaration was motivated by persistent rumours that highly visible Camacho would replace Colosio, who was not doing well in his campaign. Camacho let speculation grow for some time, but eventually declared he wouldn't run for office, concentrating his attention on Chiapas
situation instead. The day after Camacho's statement, Colosio was killed.
, a poor neighborhood of Tijuana
, Baja California
, Colosio was shot in the head from a distance of a few centimeters in front of a person recording video nearby. There was no foreign press coverage of this campaign event in spite of it happening only a few miles south of San Diego, California. Colosio collapsed, and was subsequently rushed to the city's main hospital, after plans to fly him to an American hospital across the border were canceled. His death was announced a few hours later; amid contradicting eyewitness reports that remain to this day.
The shooter, Mario Aburto Martinez
, was arrested at the site and never wavered from his story that he had acted alone. Nonetheless, many theories still surround Colosio's assassination. The authorities were criticized by their poor handling of Aburto, having shaved, bathed and given him a prison haircut before showing him to the media, which started rumors about whether that man, who looked so different from the one arrested, was really the murderer. Colosio received three bullet wounds, and it was never clear if they could have been done by a single person or not. The case has been officially closed after many different prosecutors investigated it, but after the many mishandlings of the investigation and contradictory versions, the controversy continues.
Blame was initially laid at the feet of aforementioned Manuel Camacho
, allegedly very upset at having been passed over as Salinas's successor. The finger of suspicion also pointed in the direction of organized crime, particularly the Tijuana drug cartel
. With the passage of time, however, the most persistent rumor, seemingly confirmed by Ernesto Zedillo
's (Colosio's campaign manager) selection as the PRI presidential candidate, is that Colosio was shot on the orders of Salinas himself because of a speech Colosio gave, talking about the Mexican people "thirst" for justice and a bright future. According to this rumor Salinas felt those words marked a rupture between Colosio and him.
Nevertheless, these conspiracy theories have proven faulty and often short of logic and have remained topics of urban mythology, as video evidence and Aburto's clinical history have proven them wrong. The shooter remains imprisoned at the high-security La Palma
facility in Almoloya de Juárez, and the mystery surrounding the political assassination of the man chosen to be Mexico's president remains as open and intriguing as day one.
, who had just resigned as Education Minister
to serve as Colosio's campaign manager, because Manlio Fabio Beltrones
, a very close collaborator of the murdered candidate, showed a video where Colosio praised Zedillo. This stroke of luck for Zedillo, who would have never been a candidate under normal circumstances, gave rise to even more rumours - unfounded or not.
A few months later, Salinas' brother-in-law, José Francisco Ruiz Massieu
, president of the PRI was also murdered in plain daylight in Mexico City, eliminating the two most visible and powerful official heads of the PRI in Mexico, Colosio and Ruiz Massieu. Eventually Ernesto Zedillo was elected president, becoming the last PRI president of Mexico ending the longest lasting one-party rule in modern times.
A year after Colosio's assassination, his wife, Laura Riojas, died of cancer. Prestigious newsmagazine Proceso
reported Colosio's widow's first words upon learning of her husband's assassination: "Who did it?" Two children, now cared for by relatives, survived. Colosio's father continues determined to uncover what he strongly suspects are hidden truths behind his son's very public murder and, in 2004, he published a book about the case.
about the incident premiered in Mexico
in April 2005. Initially a direct to video movie focusing on politicians and drug lords, produced by a small company, it was professionally post-produced for theatrical release and the storyline heavily oriented towards political satire, filming new scenes as needed. The title was changed from the highly offensive Se c........ al candidato (Colosio) ("They f..... the candidate", "Colossus" in Spanish sounding near to Colosio) to "Magnicidio – Complot en Lomas Taurinas
("Magnicide – Conspiracy in Lomas Taurinas"). While the movie makes no attempt at historical accuracy, it remains the only finished project about Colosio, after all other attempts by Mexican and foreign directors (like Oliver Stone
) were cancelled in the early stages. A dubbed version in English was simultaneously made for the international market. The main song in this movie by Diamante Films is performed by Delasónica, an alternative Spanish-language rock band from Colima, Colima
. The song is called "Punto y Aparte". The rest of the musical score is by Gus Reyes
.
Mexican rock group El Tri
also wrote a song about the assassination of Colosio called "Con la cola entre las patas" (With the tail between the legs).
Lorenzo de Monteclaro
, a Norteña and Banda music
singer, also recorded a Corrido
about him prior to his assassination.
The Mexican soap opera La Reina del Sur
, about a Mexican drug trafficker, has a similar assassination of a Mexican presidential candidate as part of their plot.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
politician, and PRI
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
presidential candidate, who was assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
at a campaign rally in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
during the Mexican Presidential campaign of 1994.
Political history
Born into a family with a long political heritage in Magdalena de KinoMagdalena de Kino
Magdalena de Kino is a city and surrounding municipality located in the Mexican state of Sonora covering approximately 560 square miles . According to the 2005 census, the city's population was 23,101, and the municipality's population was 25,500. Magdalena de Kino is in the northern section of...
, Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, Colosio Murrieta was the descendant of 16th century Italian
Italian Mexican
An Italian-Mexican or Italo-Mexican is a Mexican citizen of Italian descent or origin. Most people of Italian ancestry living in Mexico arrived in the late 19th century, and have become generally assimilated into mainstream society.-History:...
immigrants to New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
who settled down in the rural territories of the northwest, in the modern state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
. Colosio Murrieta studied at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, better known by its initials ITESM, after which he joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(PRI) in 1972. After that he went on to do postgraduate studies at University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and research work at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
before returning to Mexico. In 1979 he joined the Ministry of Budget and Planning under future president Carlos Salinas
Carlos Salinas
Carlos Salinas de Gortari is a Mexican economist and politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Earlier in his career he worked in the Budget Secretariat all the way up to Secretary...
.
He was elected to Congress
Congress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
as the federal deputy
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
for his home town in 1985 and, in 1987, he was selected to serve on the PRI's National Executive Committee. In 1988 Carlos Salinas chose him as the campaign manager for his (successful, although suspicious) presidential campaign. In the same election, Colosio was elected to the Senate
Senate of Mexico
The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:...
, representing Sonora.
In the early years of Salinas's presidency, Colosio served as the chairman of their party's National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
. In 1992, Salinas chose him to serve in his cabinet, in the newly created position of Social Development Secretary. In November 1993, the PRI announced that Colosio was to be its candidate for the upcoming presidential election.
Campaign for president
After a slow start, with the spotlight focusing on former foreign minister Manuel CamachoManuel Camacho Solís
Manuel Camacho Solís is a Mexican politician who served in the cabinets of presidents Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salinas...
's negotiations with the EZLN
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
guerrillas, Colosio appeared to get the traditional support of the political machine of the PRI. Like all the PRI's previous presidential candidates, he was greeted by large crowds throughout his presidential campaign, although the PRI's waning popularity meant some reduction in enthusiasm. Since Mexico's constitution permits presidents to remain in power for only one term, and as an extralegal rule presidents (until Salinas) handpicked their own successors (the party's first primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
in history took place in 1999), Colosio apparently enjoyed the president's favour, expressed in his famous declaration No se hagan bolas: el candidato es Colosio ("Don't get confused: Colosio is the candidate" would be an appropriate translation, literally it means "Don't entangle yourselves: Colosio is the candidate").
Salinas' declaration was motivated by persistent rumours that highly visible Camacho would replace Colosio, who was not doing well in his campaign. Camacho let speculation grow for some time, but eventually declared he wouldn't run for office, concentrating his attention on Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
situation instead. The day after Camacho's statement, Colosio was killed.
Assassination
At 7:12 PM, on March 23, 1994, at a campaign rally in Lomas TaurinasLomas Taurinas
Lomas Taurinas is a neighborhood outside of Tijuana. Presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio was assassinated here while on his campaign tour....
, a poor neighborhood of Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Colosio was shot in the head from a distance of a few centimeters in front of a person recording video nearby. There was no foreign press coverage of this campaign event in spite of it happening only a few miles south of San Diego, California. Colosio collapsed, and was subsequently rushed to the city's main hospital, after plans to fly him to an American hospital across the border were canceled. His death was announced a few hours later; amid contradicting eyewitness reports that remain to this day.
The shooter, Mario Aburto Martinez
Mario Aburto Martínez
Alberto Martinez is a Mexican man who was convicted for assassinating presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio in 1994. He confessed to the murder and was sentenced to 42 years in prison...
, was arrested at the site and never wavered from his story that he had acted alone. Nonetheless, many theories still surround Colosio's assassination. The authorities were criticized by their poor handling of Aburto, having shaved, bathed and given him a prison haircut before showing him to the media, which started rumors about whether that man, who looked so different from the one arrested, was really the murderer. Colosio received three bullet wounds, and it was never clear if they could have been done by a single person or not. The case has been officially closed after many different prosecutors investigated it, but after the many mishandlings of the investigation and contradictory versions, the controversy continues.
Blame was initially laid at the feet of aforementioned Manuel Camacho
Manuel Camacho Solís
Manuel Camacho Solís is a Mexican politician who served in the cabinets of presidents Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salinas...
, allegedly very upset at having been passed over as Salinas's successor. The finger of suspicion also pointed in the direction of organized crime, particularly the Tijuana drug cartel
Tijuana Cartel
The Tijuana Cartel is a Mexican drug cartel based in Tijuana. The cartel has been described as "one of the biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico"...
. With the passage of time, however, the most persistent rumor, seemingly confirmed by Ernesto Zedillo
Ernesto Zedillo
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León is a Mexican economist and politician. He served as President of Mexico from December 1, 1994 to November 30, 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted seventy year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party...
's (Colosio's campaign manager) selection as the PRI presidential candidate, is that Colosio was shot on the orders of Salinas himself because of a speech Colosio gave, talking about the Mexican people "thirst" for justice and a bright future. According to this rumor Salinas felt those words marked a rupture between Colosio and him.
Nevertheless, these conspiracy theories have proven faulty and often short of logic and have remained topics of urban mythology, as video evidence and Aburto's clinical history have proven them wrong. The shooter remains imprisoned at the high-security La Palma
Penal del Altiplano
The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" is the maximum security federal prison The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" is the maximum security federal prison The Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" is the maximum security federal prison...
facility in Almoloya de Juárez, and the mystery surrounding the political assassination of the man chosen to be Mexico's president remains as open and intriguing as day one.
Aftermath
With only four months before the election, the PRI found itself hamstrung by the constitutional requirement that no presidential candidate can hold public office during the six months immediately prior to the election; this effectively disqualified the entire cabinet, where most of the more promising replacements were. Of the few potential candidates available, Salinas eventually chose Ernesto ZedilloErnesto Zedillo
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León is a Mexican economist and politician. He served as President of Mexico from December 1, 1994 to November 30, 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted seventy year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party...
, who had just resigned as Education Minister
Secretaría de Educación Pública
The Secretaría de Educación Pública is a Mexican federal government authority with Cabinet representation and responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of national educational policy and school standards in Mexico.Additionally, it has the following responsibilities:*Creation...
to serve as Colosio's campaign manager, because Manlio Fabio Beltrones
Manlio Fabio Beltrones
Manlio Fabio Beltrones Rivera is a Mexican economist and elected official, member of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional party, and a federal senator since September 1, 2006. He was the president of the Senate during its 2006-2007 session and was reelected that position for the 2010-2011 ...
, a very close collaborator of the murdered candidate, showed a video where Colosio praised Zedillo. This stroke of luck for Zedillo, who would have never been a candidate under normal circumstances, gave rise to even more rumours - unfounded or not.
A few months later, Salinas' brother-in-law, José Francisco Ruiz Massieu
José Francisco Ruiz Massieu
José Francisco Ruiz Massieu was a Mexican political figure. He was governor of Guerrero from 1987 to 1993. He then served as the secretary-general of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1994...
, president of the PRI was also murdered in plain daylight in Mexico City, eliminating the two most visible and powerful official heads of the PRI in Mexico, Colosio and Ruiz Massieu. Eventually Ernesto Zedillo was elected president, becoming the last PRI president of Mexico ending the longest lasting one-party rule in modern times.
A year after Colosio's assassination, his wife, Laura Riojas, died of cancer. Prestigious newsmagazine Proceso
Proceso (magazine)
Proceso is a Mexican magazine published in Mexico City. It was founded on November 6, 1976 by journalist Julio Scherer García, its current president...
reported Colosio's widow's first words upon learning of her husband's assassination: "Who did it?" Two children, now cared for by relatives, survived. Colosio's father continues determined to uncover what he strongly suspects are hidden truths behind his son's very public murder and, in 2004, he published a book about the case.
Colosio in popular culture
The first motion pictureFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
about the incident premiered in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in April 2005. Initially a direct to video movie focusing on politicians and drug lords, produced by a small company, it was professionally post-produced for theatrical release and the storyline heavily oriented towards political satire, filming new scenes as needed. The title was changed from the highly offensive Se c........ al candidato (Colosio) ("They f..... the candidate", "Colossus" in Spanish sounding near to Colosio) to "Magnicidio – Complot en Lomas Taurinas
Lomas Taurinas
Lomas Taurinas is a neighborhood outside of Tijuana. Presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio was assassinated here while on his campaign tour....
("Magnicide – Conspiracy in Lomas Taurinas"). While the movie makes no attempt at historical accuracy, it remains the only finished project about Colosio, after all other attempts by Mexican and foreign directors (like Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
) were cancelled in the early stages. A dubbed version in English was simultaneously made for the international market. The main song in this movie by Diamante Films is performed by Delasónica, an alternative Spanish-language rock band from Colima, Colima
Colima, Colima
Colima is capital of the state of the same name, a city and municipality located in the center west of Mexico. It is located near the Colima Volcano, which divides the small state from that of Jalisco. Despite being the capital, the city is not the state’s main tourist attraction, eclipsed by...
. The song is called "Punto y Aparte". The rest of the musical score is by Gus Reyes
Gus Reyes
Gustavo Alberto Ramirez Reyes is a Mexican musician and composer primarily focused on film scores.Born in México City on June 27, 1977, Reyes was a stubborn kid with incredible musical capacities and amazing creativity. He began his studies in music at the age of 8...
.
Mexican rock group El Tri
El Tri
El Tri is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City fronted by Alex Lora. Founded in 1968 as Three Souls in My Mind, the group is regarded as influential in the development of Mexican rock music....
also wrote a song about the assassination of Colosio called "Con la cola entre las patas" (With the tail between the legs).
Lorenzo de Monteclaro
Lorenzo de Monteclaro
Lorenzo de Monteclaro is a singer of Mexican ranchera music. He was born with the name of Lorenzo Hernández en Cuencamé de Ceniceros, Durango, and sang for the first time on radio in the late 1950s on a Sunday talent contest called "Aficionados de los Ejidos" on XEDN...
, a Norteña and Banda music
Banda music
Banda is a brass-based form of traditional music. Bandas play a wide variety of songs, including rancheras, corridos, cumbias, baladas, and boleros. Bandas are most widely known for their rancheras, but they also play modern Mexican pop, rock, and cumbias...
singer, also recorded a Corrido
Corrido
The corrido is a popular narrative song and poetry form, a ballad, of Mexico. The songs are often about oppression, history, daily life for peasants, and other socially important information. It is still a popular form today, and was widely popular during the Mexican Revolution and Nicaraguan...
about him prior to his assassination.
The Mexican soap opera La Reina del Sur
La Reina del Sur
La Reina del Sur is the title of a studio album released by norteño music group Los Tigres del Norte. This album became their third number-one hit on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.-Tracklisting:This...
, about a Mexican drug trafficker, has a similar assassination of a Mexican presidential candidate as part of their plot.
External links
- The San Diego Union-Tribune Who killed Luis Donaldo Colosio?
- The San Diego Union-Tribune 'PRI presidential candidate slain 10 years ago today'.