MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to never use military force against civilians as the country approaches the 50th anniversary of a bloody reprisal against students.
Lopez Obrador promised Saturday at Tlatelolco Plaza to "never ever use the military to repress the Mexican people."
Troops fired on a peaceful demonstration at the plaza on Oct. 2, 1968, killing as many as 300 people at a time when leftist student movements were taking root throughout Latin America.
Lopez Obrador has pledged to support young Mexicans by giving monthly subsidies to those who study and opening more free public universities.
He has said that unemployment and a lack of educational opportunities draws youth to criminal gangs.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
