This month’s Working Class History T-shirt of the Month brings us to the Mexico of 1968 when many workers and poor farmers were fighting for better conditions, and the government responded with violent repression during what is known as the “dirty war”. People were angry at the huge cost of staging the Olympics, as well as police repression. And so, on 2 October around 10,000 school and university students gathered in protest at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Mexico City, chanting: “We don’t want Olympics, we want revolution!”
A little after 6 PM, 5,000 troops surrounded the square and began firing into the crowd and nearby buildings. Throughout the night, soldiers and police officers went on a rampage, rounding people up, and beating and killing protesters, bystanders and local residents. Authorities and the media claimed that troops were defending themselves from sniper fire, but it was much later revealed that the snipers who began shooting were members of the Presidential Guard.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been in close contact with Mexican authorities as it was concerned about protests against the Olympic Games, and the US military provided them with equipment, weapons and ammunition. Six days before the massacre, Mexican federal security told the CIA that “the situation will be under complete control very shortly”.
Tattoo artist Fede Borgia’s design is remembering the brave people in Mexicio who protested in the street back then and comes with the Spanish phrase “2 de Octubre no se olvida” (2 October will never be forgotten).
This month’s design is offered on white and red T-shirts as well as on grey hoodies.
Estimated date of shipping
December 10, 2023
Estimated delivery time
Estimated delivery time for Germany, the EU, UK and Switzerland is on average 4-7 days from the date of shipping . USA and rest of the world is 7-14 days on average from the date of shipping.
