Juan hadn’t wanted to go to school since February, but his parents didn’t know why. He never spoke about bullying. At least not before what happened to him, what they did to him. Three weeks ago, two classmates at his school sat him on an alcohol-soaked chair. He felt the desk was wet but thought it was water. As he got up, one of the boys lit him with a lighter. Juan suffered second and third degree burns, is still unable to walk and has had four surgeries. The reason for the aggression and teasing: being Otomi Indians and “not speaking Spanish well”. An attack that could be deadly has forced the Mexican city of Querétaro to engage in an uncomfortable conversation about discrimination and bullying, in a country where racism is still taboo and where the vast majority of cases escape families’ radars , educational institutions and government agencies.
“It was an attempted murder,” says Juan Zamorano, father of the 14-year-old. “Maybe the other kids thought the damage was minor, but my son will carry these scars for the rest of his life,” he says. Zamorano stares at the ground with fatherly fear. He hasn’t been able to eat, he hasn’t slept well and every word that comes out of his mouth hides a titanic effort. He and his wife had to quit their jobs to focus on Juanito, as they call him in his family. His body is present but his head is two kilometers away at the hospital where his son is being treated. “We’re in shock,” he admits.
His son is also in shock. He could not speak for several days. But when he did, he stopped talking about the abuse he suffered. His classmates at the Josefa Vergara High School cut his hair, made fun of his accent and laughed at his mother, who sold sweets on the street in the afternoons to cover expenses. Juan, a reclusive young man with few friends, told his parents that he didn’t get along with his teacher, that she was showing him off and that he wasn’t comfortable with the other boys. He didn’t say anything specific about teasing. The teacher and principal of the school refused to change rooms, affirming that they had no idea why the boy wanted to do this.
The high school “Jose Vergara” where Juan Zamorano studies RODRIGO OROPEZA
After the attack, the parents are convinced that the teacher participated in the abuse or at least instigated it. The kids who set Juan on fire had thrown a can of condensed milk on the classroom floor and begged the teacher for alcohol to clean up. Fabián García, the family’s legal representative, says that two weeks before the incident, a disciplinary report was filed against one of the two children, who is accused of bringing alcohol and a lighter to class. It’s not the first time he’s done something like this, says the lawyer. “He had a warning signed by him and his parents on May 20th of that year, promising not to spray alcohol on his classmates again,” says Garcia. The report and other sanctions were submitted by the teacher herself as evidence in the judicial investigation.
“No one helped him,” lamented the boy’s father. After his pants started to burn, Juan took off his clothes and the teacher sent him to the bathroom to change and get him a new one. According to the family history, while Juan was changing, the teacher went to a nearby store to buy an onion and asked him to sprinkle it on her to soothe the burns. The boy was bleeding so he took him to a nearby clinic to see what they could do. It wasn’t a specialized body, but from that moment on they realized the seriousness of the injuries. The teacher eventually took Juan to her home in El Salitre, a contrasting community where tennis courts and private clubs coexist wall-to-wall with humble homes and dirt roads. “They never contacted us,” says Zamorano, “we have other daughters who go to the same school and they didn’t tell them either.”
The day after the attack, the child was taken to the children’s and women’s clinic, where it has been hospitalized ever since. Juan has burns on his lower back, buttocks, calves and genitals. “We’re not sure if it’s going to end well,” says his father.
Lawyer Fabián García in his office in Querétaro state. RODRIGO OROPEZA
“The first thing the teacher had to do was call 911 and then, according to protocols, notify the parents,” Garcia claims. After the attack, Juan’s parents, the families of the other children, and the teachers gathered. The teacher said the attacker boys’ parents had promised to pay the medical expenses in exchange for the matter being resolved discreetly. “Don’t file a lawsuit, because if you do, don’t count on us, we won’t help you,” the father recalls, as the teacher told him. “We didn’t agree.”
The law firm advising the family has filed three lawsuits: one against the boys who assaulted him and two against the teacher. The teacher is reported to the public prosecutor’s office, where, as a representative of the state, compensation for damage to property is demanded. An investigation was also launched in the school authority’s internal control body, which, according to a statement published on Friday, found the teacher’s indefinite suspension. The teenagers have been charged with the felony of intentional assault, but they are only 13 years old and will not be prosecuted: they are too young even for a youth center.
“In any case, it’s an unfortunate fact that it shouldn’t have happened,” admits Secretary of State for Education Martha Elena Soto. However, the official is reluctant to classify what happened as bullying or racism and avoids commenting on the teacher’s actions because the internal investigation of the education authorities was ongoing at the time of the interview. Soto blames the incident on “twitching” caused by the pandemic. “This fact could be a consequence of the detention we had,” he defends himself. The secretary assures that the Querétaro authorities have offered to cover medical expenses, provide psychological support and financial support through various addictions.
View of the Attorney General of the State of Querétaro RODRIGO OROPEZA
Instead, Zamorano says they were unsupported. His family came to the state capital 15 years ago from Amealco, the city of Querétaro with the largest Otomi presence, Mexico’s fifth-largest indigenous group. “We came here to earn a living, but we are often discriminated against just because of our language,” says Juan’s father, who worked in construction until last month. It’s not the first physical aggression they’ve suffered because of discrimination. In another incident, one of Juan’s older brothers was beaten by other boys as a child, and the beating permanently damaged one hand, Zamorano says. His sisters have also had to take insults because of their origins: “Look at your parents, they don’t even have enough to eat.” “But they accepted it, they haven’t told us anything that this happened to us,” says he resigns.
“People get angry at our speech and ask me if I’m Indian, I tell them yes, I’m Indian, native and Mexican,” says Alberto Martínez, a 71-year-old Otomi man. “When I was a teenager, they would call me a dirty, mean Indian or they would grab our products with their fingertips like we were going to infect them with something,” says Aida Martínez, a 37-year-old saleswoman from Mazahua, from the state of Mexico migrated to Querétaro in search of economic opportunities. “They also call us Marías, like we all have that name,” she complains. India María is a common comedy character in the country who reproduces stereotypes about indigenous Mexican women. It is also a common name for dolls sold by Otomi artisans who have been recognized as cultural heritage and has been adopted as a derogatory nickname for female handicraft sellers regardless of ethnicity.
“Racism is very evident here in Querétaro and everywhere, ask anyone here about the doll sellers and they will tell you about the Marías,” says Luz del Carmen Díaz, a 21-year-old education student originally from Amealco. “As a teacher, I get conflicted because they only teach us to stand up and teach, but they don’t prepare us to deal with such an issue,” she laments. Soto disagrees and assures that there is in fact a preparation for the teachers, that it is a matter of “reinforcing” the mechanisms and that Querétaro is above the national average in terms of reference indicators. This newspaper sought an interview with Governor Mauricio Kuri, who declined due to time constraints.
The attack on Juan put Querétaro in the mirror of racism, albeit briefly. “It was very sad to know what happened, but I think it was even sadder that a lot of people didn’t find out,” says Arantza Cuanalo, a 20-year-old college student. “The news caused quite a stir, but it was a matter of one day, the next day it was over,” he says. “I haven’t experienced any discrimination, but I think it’s because of my social class and the color of my skin.” According to the most recent national survey on the subject, appearance is the number one reason for discrimination in Mexico.
Colonia El Salitre where Juan Zamorano’s family lives RODRIGO OROPEZA
According to García, it is very difficult to punish racist acts in Mexico. “We are not prepared for this, nor do we have the laws or the culture for it,” he says. The Josefa-Vergara-Gymnasium interrupted the face-to-face classes while the incident was being clarified and, after an initial outburst, there is now silence in the school community. A judge has temporarily banned the two young attackers from approaching Juan, leaving the state, and ordered them to remain under the care of their parents. The trial of the boys expelled from high school is expected to resume in late August while the investigation is uncharged. “He asked me if there will be justice,” says Juan’s father, before announcing that they are looking for a new school. “I encourage him and say yes.”
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