Brief biography of Lucio Cabañas


The State of Guerrero, in Mexico, has an extension of 63794 kms² and it's known all over the world by the port of Acapulco. Nevertheless, it is one of the poorest entities of the country.

Old caciquisms, abuses, corruption, crimes, violations, poverty, insalubrity, an inequitable wealth distribution, backwardness, are some of the factors that daily should combat the Guerrero peasants. This explains the high number of annual homicides, the fact that some peasants sow drugs as a method to leave quickly the poverty or , to join armed movements.

Particularly, Lucio Cabañas Barrientos and Genaro Vázquez Rojas were leaders of 2 armed groups that during the 70's combatted in the Guerrero Mountains. Both of them studied in the Rural School of Ayotzinapa and acted in the same stages: the teachers union, the Revolutionary Movement of the Teaching, the National Liberation Movement, in the State of Guerrero political opposition toward governors Caballero Aburto and Abarca Calderón and finally separated from the governmental structure which they came from. Both would take, separately, the stealthiness and armed struggle roads.

In November 11, 1966, Genaro Vázquez is arrested by the Guerrero police, on the verge of the Independent Peasant Central, in Mexico City and led to Chilpancingo, capital city of Guerrero. After a stay in prison, he's freed due to a gunshot in April 22, 1968 when he was transported by the police to a dentist consulting room. His group accomplished several combats and kidnappings, with rescue. Genaro was a man with a greater political and ideological preparation than Lucio. He died at the age of 35 years-old in a wrong physical state during the dawn of February 2, 1972, as consequence of the relentless pursuit in a car accident in the Mexico-Morelia highway.

Lucio Cabañas Barrientos was born in El Porvenir, municipality of Lucio Cabañas BarrientosAtoyac de Álvarez, December 12, 1938 in the bosom of a peasant home; he dies before reaching 36 years-old.

He studied the teacher career in the Normal of Guerrero and began perform legal battles, always within an active student life, always passionate for politics. He participated in student matters; he was leader of the Normal, represented his students in several parts of the Republic. Later, he was elected General Secretary of the Federation of Socialistic Peasant Students of Mexico in 1962. Then he returned to the Normal to end his career. The first job he got was in a town called Mezcaltepec, municipality of Atoyac, 100 kilometers from the Mountains. Thereinafter he was changed to Atoyac, municipal head-board, to the "Modesto Alarcón" School where he became teachers leader in order to represent the zone professors. He was frequently called as a problems conciliator even from other schools. Precisely in 1965, due to his intervention in the conflict solution of the "Juan Álvarez" School caused that the governor of the State, Dr. Raymundo Abarca Alarcón promoted his change to the State of Durango. In Durango he also participated in movements, as the Cerro del Mercado Movement, against the governor Alejandro Páez Urquidi, reason by which he was returned to his place of birth.

Lucio was calm in the personal topic. He did not drink, he did not smoke. He attended parties with few regularity. His expression and behavior were calm and he was good-natured. Extremely cold and reflexive.

During his leader Normal pupil season (1960s), the students of the University went on strike to request the recognition of the university autonomy, traveling most of them to the state schools. In assembly, the Ayotzinapa Normal students agreed to support such strike. They also received the visit of Genaro Vázquez who in those days was organizing the Guerrero Civic Association .

Bitter enemy of the PRI, Lucio Cabañas creates the Poors Party as a student and peasant organization form. Students self-called "the sicks" (since if Lenin said that extremism is a communism's infantile disease, we, yes, are the sick, since there is nobody more extremist than us).

On May 18, 1967, there was a revolt in Atoyac due to a conflict of the educational personnel of "Juan Álvarez" School. Having achieved the principal removal days before, the government refused to remove also her supporters, something which was causing division in the school. The mentioned day, a group of heads of the family and Judicial Policeman and Motorized personal blocked the way to the teachers, an agent attempted to take away Lucio the microphone he was using to avoid teachers to enter. The Motorized Corps commander missed a shoot and confusion starts. During the gunfire there is a blast that attempts to kill Lucio but fortunately he leaves unscathed and escapes to the Mountains.

Later, Lucio and his group would kidnap the governor Rubén Figueroa (senior) by more than 100 days. Lucio was murdered during the rescue operations by members of the Mexican Army.

  Español.

Most recent revision: April 27, 2002.