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**Shiloh** · June 9, 2009, 08:11 AM

Re: Part 3: Poverty in Mexico: Unstoppable maternal, fetal and child deaths

Part 1 of the Poverty in Mexico series

Source: http://www.informador.com.mx/jalisco...la-familia.htm

Google translation:
Flaw in the structure of the State Family Protection

* Indian Teen dies in misery and abandonment

Malnutrition, disease, extreme violence, lack of housing, lack of public services, illiteracy and unemployment were the daily menu of Teresa, a native died after a terrible death on January 12, 2009 at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara
Since childhood, Teresa projected weakness and desolation. The majestic scenery of Canyon de Tlaxcala, a small community located in the delegation of Tuxpan Bola?os, in the Area Wixarika (Huichol) from Jalisco, contrasted with the extreme poverty endured through adolescence. The nose of rabbits, "as he dubbed his friends, died at 16 years old on January 12, 2009. Least one among the more than 44.7 million Mexicans in poverty.

Paradise inside darkened Teresa from childhood. The high social backwardness and violence imposed on it by his father, Felipe L?pez Gonz?lez, left him outside of basic human rights. His mother and four siblings are added to the list of victims stranded by the authorities. High degree of malnutrition, disease, lack of housing, lack of basic services, illiteracy and hard work to survive iban in everyday life and are the daily lot for many families of Bola?os in Tuxpan, located more than three hours travel by truck from the town of Bola?os, a dangerous terracer?a. On foot, walk as most of the more than two thousand Indians who live there, the route can exceed 50 hours.

The couple endured Wixarika around until the death of his mother. For nearly two years was found hanging from a red scarf in the branch of a tree in Canyon de Tlaxcala. Reportedly decided on the death, driven by physical and verbal attacks from Felipe, who also often alcoholic sex with other women, forced them to fulfill their pleasures, protected by the traditions and customs of the natives, which prevent the direct intervention of public safety. For Teresa, the disappearance of her mother left a crucial defeat adversity. Even tried to confront her father, but succumbed to the difference in forces, and the 15 years of age in 2008 was deported to shock the home.

Separated from his family combined with the continued presence of disease. Used to spend days without food, but the weakness felt so overwhelmed and break against the wind while the sun is carcom?a the pale skin and bones during working hours. Cement, soil or bank were a bed of needles that prevented him to sleep. The same feeling during the past few years which he spent with his family. The mattress on which he slept on the dirt floor of his house (made of stone, adobe and straw), was witness to the pain that it affected mainly in the column and made it impossible to rest. Continually suffered from severe headaches and burned in temperature; it hard to breathe. Lack of money and the remoteness of medical care she could not recover from the illness.

Wandering, he worked in the planting and harvesting corn and beans, as well as masonry work, from offices to the child who spent long hours under the whip of the sun. With his family had two choices: to work in remote communities of what was or planting maize and beans for self-one of the main features of religion is the association between Wixarika corn, deer and peyote (cactus plant whose ingestion produces hallucinogenic effects and narcotics). Its mythology refers to these elements, and the rituals, festivities, and temporal organization of life around them. The corn and the deer are living, the peyote is the most important way to transcend the profane world and the most obvious material manifestation of the sacred.

Booster

Teresa wandered to and fro between towns in northern Jalisco, until paid employed a pair of wixaritari (plural form of Wixarika) is savagely beaten by his father's financial debts, the December 27, 2008. That day was injured in the command of the Municipal Police Chimaltit?n (population bordering Bola?os). John "the Huichol" was mentioned by the beating, along with another Indian who was not identified. "We could not catch the perpetrators" recalls Jos? Ram?rez David Naranjo, director of Public Safety, they fled into the Sierra. The Indians are very angry, especially when alcohol. Made it hurt the boy, he had to go to the health center for care. "

Days later, the fate of Teresa (who spoke little Spanish) seemed to change. On Sunday, January 4, 2009, dragging effects of the beating, the mayor of Chimaltit?n Basilio Rodriguez Gonzalez, was sympathetic: "Teresa roam the night in front of the Cologne Agua Caliente; saw him injured and told me that some Huicholes beaten. I talked to her mother died and his father ran it from home and decided to take it to the county nursing home living for a few days there while recovering. "

The Indian had found where to eat, sleep and be protected from the cold. The shelter offered by the mayor he could remember the short-lived stage in the primary of Tuxpan Bola?os. Deserted because I had to work to eat and help her family financially. At that time his colleagues nicknamed him "bunny nose" because it was causing redness cold climate of the area. His outfit, like the rest of the wixaritari, was insufficient to cope with severe winters: a huerruri "(long cotton pants, decorated with traditional symbolic designs at the turn of the trousers, embroidered in cross stitch) and a" kamirra "or" kutuni "(long shirt open at the sides and tied at the waist with a juayame" which is a thick, wide strip of wool or stamen).

During the first five days at the home of Chimaltit?n, sometimes went to work on anything. Returns with an energizing drink because he felt weak. "It looked decayed, he was always very quiet," recalls Socorro Yanez, responsible for the morning shift from the hostel. Saturday January 10 could not get out of bed. "He felt really bad, so staff municipal asylum called the doctor, who recommended moving it to the hospital (First Contact) to Colotl?n (by Jalisco Secretariat of Health). The problem is that the next day and did not open the health center and were unable to get the sheet to the transfer. It was very yellow and vomited a lot, "said Socorro Yanez.

Agony

The wait did affect the health of Teresa. On Monday January 12 was revised again by the municipal doctor, who reiterated the urgency to move to Colotl?n. Regardless of the blows that had the fight with Indians, diagnosed pneumonia. The Wixarika could barely get up. His steps were slow. "The huicholito not going too badly, but was very ill," notes Maria de la Luz Mart?nez Rico, in charge of the afternoon shift from the hostel. "On Sunday, ate well, we prepared and ate twice as often in the morning, ate and returned to dinner. I told him that if he did not harm, but I replied that no, moving the head. On Monday and could not have breakfast, complained a lot. "

At noon came the ambulance for transport. Maria de la Luz accompanied Wixarika. The road was long, and after two hours and half arrived at the hospital, where Theresa was channeled and performed blood tests. The diagnosis required a further move: should be addressed urgently at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. "I could not believe-mention-Maria de la Luz, Teresa was very serious. He needed blood urgently, if not, he could die. The problem is that the Hospital Colotl?n not used to these diseases and many others. Not because he was blood all over the region (Northern Jalisco) there is no blood bank. I was told that at any moment could fall into cardiac arrest. " At 18:30 hours the ambulance departed for Guadalajara. "On the way, Teresa insisted that he hurt his head and back, which was a very strong pain. Duramos almost three hours of Colotl?n to Guadalajara. "

At 22:00 arrived at New Civil Hospital "Dr. John I. Menchaca. "We were struggling because they were so fast, there were no beds, they were checking on a stretcher in the hospital tells Maria de la Luz, who 'celebrated' well, in the midst of the sick, his birthday -. 40 About an hour and a half after it sought to move a bed to give it due attention, but gave as an attack. Then I drove to the place because I altered and minutes after doctors warned me that they were made to revive it (given CPR for 20 minutes) but nothing helped. He was dead. Not enough to give his service ... he brought the same serum Colotl?n, did not give him medicine or blood transfusion. "

Without blood in the veins

Teresa did not die by the shortcomings of the health system, but by the conditions of backwardness and the social context of one of the populations with the highest level of marginalization in Jalisco, argues G?itr?n Jose Ramirez, head of the New Adult Emergency Hospital Civil de Guadalajara .
First, the doctor speculated that the couple arrived at the hospital with a leukemia or a bone marrow hypoplasia. But doubts remained in the diagnosis of medical discharge.

Responsible for the afternoon shift at the hospital, Leticia Gonzalez, did not dare to define the diagnosis of shock exit by presenting Teresa as a result of the fight with Indians, and sent the body to Jalisciense Institute of Forensic Sciences for autopsy law. "She could do the medical part, but do not want to get into trouble because it is not aware who hit him. Removing the mystery of the blows, the cause of death was internal bleeding, abdominal or brain, "says Ramirez G?itr?n:" Probably would have had leukemia (a group of bone marrow diseases involving an uncontrolled increase in white blood cells: leukocytes) or bone marrow aplasia (marrow insufficiency quantitative), which are very serious diseases. "

Medical tests show that Teresa had 2.5 units of hemoglobin in the blood when a man should maintain an average of 16 units, ie, he was only 15% of hemoglobin. "Few people that I have about life in this situation, in a career of more than 20 years. Furthermore brought another problem: The platelets were very low (as a function of cells in the blood clotting), brought 12 thousand, where the normal ranges between 250 thousand and 300 thousand platelets only bring 5%. If a person is, you can bleed spontaneously from the gums, head or body part "refers G?itr?n Ramirez.

The specialist recapitulated when Teresa arrived at the hospital (with a weight of 46 kg) and blood called platelets, but in the Civil Hospital were aware of the shipment from the morning of that Monday. "Blood has a process to be administered three hours (must be thawed), then came half an hour after a patient died (blood group was O positive). And although he would have had to wait for blood to pass successfully through the veins in the space of four hours, about four packages needed about 30 thousand globular and platelet concentrates to be out of danger of bleeding. "

It was felt that the disease had evolved Teresa for more than six months. "These patients are left to die on the issue-generalizes G?itr?n Ramirez, referring to the Indians, almost come to die in hospitals because of its seriousness ... I feel sorry to say. The Indians are not addressed until the end of the sowing and harvesting in July and August when it is not working and come to hospitals. 10% of the care of patients of Indians is very serious. Teresa is an example. Would not have died if it had been before the Civil Hospital. No wonder their situation, be sure, the Indians have terrible cases of anemia, alcoholism, advanced cirrhosis, severe malnutrition and even pregnancies under 15 years. "

A week later, the Directorate of Social Communication of the Institute of Forensic Sciences Jalisciense answered about the death of Wixarika: "He died because of an acute pulmonary edema, helped by pneumonia (infection of the lungs, many different organisms can cause, including bacteria, viruses and fungi) and anemia (condition in which there are a number of red blood cells in the blood below normal, usually measured by the reduction in the amount of hemoglobin). But the Civil Hospital is who should discharge diagnosis, not the institution. " The unit did not issue comments by the blows that had the Indians.

Although pulmonary edema is a true medical emergency, according to the Upgrade Program for Continuing Medical Cardiology, and should therefore be identified early to install the treatment in a timely manner, Teresa's life ended in a terrible agony because there were no networks communication between doctors and city and state to be treated in a specialty hospital since December 27 when it was first presented at the health center Chimaltit?n. He died two weeks later.

Return Home

Malnutrition in indigenous communities is something normal for their culture, their festivals last up to three days ", says the mayor of Bola?os, Luis Alberto Zamora Zamora

The morning of January 13, 2009, the mayor of Chimaltit?n Basilio Gonzalez Rodriguez contacted his counterpart in Bola?os, Luis Alberto Zamora Zamora, to inform him of the death of Teresa, and ask the family to search for the burial. "It was a very unfortunate case, Rodriguez-Gonzalez says, that comes from domestic violence. The local doctor told us that he died because of this that he was beaten, the beating he was given were not minor battle of breath, you hit hard in the chest. "

- Why are not sent to hospital Colotl?n the day that he found it to make medical examinations, visible to the poor health conditions in which it was the day of the assault?
- When I found him, told him to put his complaint-dodging of the municipal Chimaltit?n. Even the Police believe that he helped bring the complaint to the Public Ministry (no investigation in this regard). During the eight days he was at the home showed well until his health deteriorated, he joined the last one anemia and leukemia. I want to clarify that there was negligence in the case of Teresa, we can show that when given the increased attention. We have a great lesson we must learn to deal with cases of domestic violence and prevent these tragedies.

The mayor said that "need more security in the marginal parts, where the impunity and violence in the home. The problem of domestic violence is very serious, there is often such cases, and Teresa is an example. There is a version of the father hanged himself after his mother and ran to Teresa, then family disintegration detonated his death. It is important that the authorities come to solve these problems and prevent deaths. "

The mayor of Bola?os, Luis Alberto Zamora Zamora, comments on the death of Wixarika: "I gave a box for burial to Teresa-presumed, but did not know if I talked to the mayor of Chimaltit?n. At that time we act to locate the relatives. Bola?os in there so much violence-statement repels the first mayor of Chimaltit?n; all the boys go to school. What I have is malnutrition, which is normal for the culture of indigenous people, their festivals last up to three days. Another problem is high unemployment, we are a very marginalized. "

Mayors agree only in the lack of specialty medical services in northern Jalisco.

Cesar Avila Dur?n, director of Public Safety Bola?os, was tasked to locate the family of Teresa. The body was buried in the pantheon of Tuxpan Bola?os. "I contacted the alderman of the community of Tuxpan, Rosal?o Jos? de la Cruz, and through him to locate the father of Theresa. When we found was in a state of drunkenness, very unwell ... they say is always the case. The body is what we get. They live in Canyon de Tlaxcala, a very risky area in the Sierra, are walking more than five hours between Tuxpan and Canyon, because it is impassable for vehicles. "

Abounds that Teresa's father "is very violent, we have had many reports of domestic violence, with the neighbors also have many problems because it tried to take away their women. Several people, even in Tuxpan, do not see very well, gets drunk and just looking for fights. The death of his wife was said among the neighbors that he treated very badly and thought they had killed. His wife died a year and half ago, the body was found hanging from a tree. He committed suicide or was murdered. The Public Prosecutor of San Mart?n de Bola?os lifted a preliminary investigation, but nothing is known. These problems are common, the natives are very aggressive and abusive when drunk. "

- If you have complaints of violence against his family of Philip and others, why not intervene to prevent assaults or murders?
- We turn when the government asks us to support traditional (composed of representatives of indigenous peoples) from Tuxpan to Bola?os, but hands are tied by traditions from them. If the government traditionally does not allow us, we can not intervene in these cases of violence.

In the house of Felipe L?pez Gonz?lez four other living children, siblings, Teresa. A girl of 13 years caring for their younger siblings from orphaned.
Joy Maria Guadalupe Curiel, director of DIF Municipal Bola?os, speaking of the protection afforded to the family in such cases: "We can not get as a municipal authority in indigenous communities, do not. We have to intervene to request the traditional governor. There is much violence among Indians, but that is their culture. "

- Did you meet Teresa's death?
- No.

- In its extreme violence in a family (he gives a brief account of the history), and the father continues to live with small children who were left motherless. Despite incidents of violence reported in the Public Security Directorate, including the suspected murder, the DIF can not intervene in the protection of minors?
- No. We are tied. We can not jump to take their children. What we can do is go to the DIF Jalisco for advice.

- How can the habits of Indians over the most basic human rights, especially for children?
- That is something that has always been the case.

- How many have received advice by DIF Jalisco in the city administration to help get out of domestic violence to indigenous women and children?
- I do not remember any ...

The governor of Tuxpan traditional Bola?os, Juan Velazquez, did not want to further the death of Teresa: "Unfortunately he died in such conditions. Know whether there was violence in his family, I have no reports, I know little about the case. "

Interviewed in his community, he changes the subject and addresses federal, state and city: "Here we are in oblivion, there is much poverty, marginalization, and there is much work there. Here people live in the little harvest of maize and beans, but it is for own consumption. We do not have basic utilities, we live between the earth and the health center is not suitable for serious illnesses, not even ambulances. People walk barefoot and children are most at risk because many alacranes ... many have died from the stings. "

In Tuxpan Bola?os is another scenario of the death of Teresa, some wixaritari stress that hunger pushed him to rob a grocery store in Chimaltit?n, and was discovered by the landlord that they had him beat. "Some 'cholos' killed him, it is known here. They say that until he was in jail for robbery at the store, "said Luciano Romero Carrillo, who knows the family of Teresa.

Authorities and neighbors Chimaltit?n, outraged by the statements, denied this version.

Three million poor in Mexico

Northern Jalisco notable for its high level of social backwardness. Is inhabited mostly by Indians and mestizos of the municipalities of Bola?os, Chimaltit?n, Mezquitic Huejuquilla and El Alto. The food poverty, assets and capabilities, as classified in the public policies of social development is the common factor among residents and result in a permanent survival.

In Mexico there are three million people living in poverty, according to the Delegation of the Ministry of Social Development (SEDESOL) of the Federal Government. Teresa's story is an example of living and dying in misery.

The Ministry of Human Development Jalisco recognizes that more than 730 thousand people live in food poverty, one million 300 thousand in poverty and two million capacity of 300 thousand in asset poverty. The holder of a state agency, Martin Hernandez Balderas, says the benefits that will bring social development programs in this administration Emilio Gonz?lez M?rquez: "We want only 365 thousand live in poverty Jalisco food at the end of the term, which reduces this problem, more worrying, in the middle. "

Experts ridicule the goal of state government, facing the brunt of the economic crisis and the impacts on health alert from the human influenza in the country.

Research: Mario Alejandro Mu?oz de Loza

Announcement

Part 3: Poverty in Mexico: Unstoppable maternal, fetal and child deaths

Part 3: Poverty in Mexico: Unstoppable maternal, fetal and child deaths

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