Justice, cleansing by fire

SOLOLÁ — Forget what I said earlier about property going unharmed. Turns out today’s events provide a not-so-“peaceful” lesson on Mayan community justice. After visiting with my friends this evening and watching some of the news on the local TV station, I learned the day didn’t pass so uneventfully in other parts of town.

Fire, it seems, had a cleansing effect in biblical times (see sidebar) and today as well at hideouts for local bandits. After the morning’s peaceful rally, the people rallied and marched up the hill to a large house and adjacent “bar” operated by a disreputable family.

Locals torched the hilltop “bar” and two or three more houses around town, owned by alleged kidnappers. They burned one car and a couple motorcycles. Five were injured and taken to the hospital. Police arrested 16 locals and placed them in the town jail. Fortunately, no one died.

For some time, townspeople have known the hilltop bar was home to nefarious activities, including prostitution, narcotics trafficking, thievery, kidnapping and extortion. Out of fear, they said nothing. Affected families acted understandably, trying only to free their loved ones. But about two weeks ago, townspeople became fed up. Unnamed local officials published a paper naming the alleged kidnappers and posted it around town. This may have also coincided with the reported escape of one of the kidnapped people who named the family.

Today at the rally, a man read a list of about a dozen crimes that occurred over the past couple of years, including kidnapping for extorted money, rape, torture and the like. The figures demanded through extortion ranged from 10,000 quetzales to 1 million quetzales ($1,300 to $130,000 — a lot of money here).

Yesterday, the rumor was that people would burn the homes and businesses of the alleged criminals. This morning, local officials urged people not to resort to violence. This afternoon, the town did exactly that, setting fire and bringing a kind of “community” justice to a situation that had become a plague and a stench in their eyes.

Realizing the town’s intent to bring vigilante-style justice, the bandits fled their properties several days ago, some earlier. Hoping to protect the hilltop bar, the owners hung a large banner on one wall declaring it was now a church of God. The banner allegedly admitted to its disreputable past, but declared it had received divine pardon. Townspeople weren’t impressed.

Perhaps most remarkable to me is what happened this evening. Knowing that 16 men had been jailed by police during today’s disturbances, locals blocked roads in and out of town, demanding their release. To my surprise, the police granted their demands and released them. This would never happen in America, but in a way I kind of like it. My friends here expressed solidarity with the decision and not a hint of shock.

Another unusual event occurred today as well. As one neighborhood prepared to march to the soccer stadium, the leaders stopped at the local “bar,” home to excessive drinking and prostitution. Several times, it seems, men at the bar became unruly, causing the owner to resort to gunfire. This woke up the neighbors and disturbed the peace. (Contributing to alcoholism and prostitution, it seems, is one thing. Disturbing the peace is another.)

Officials offered the “bar” owner a deal: If he would shut down his business, they would protect his property. If not, they could not guarantee anything. Indeed, after burning the hilltop den of iniquity, townspeople headed down to this other bar. But because the owner had signed an agreement, neighbors confronted the townspeople, protecting the owner and his property.