The rumor provoked a form of mass hysteria, especially in neighborhoods in the southern part of Guadalajara, where primary school absenteeism peaked at 25 percent on Monday.
The panic began after a rumor spread rapidly that a drug cartel had placed “narcomantas” (public signs) outside schools on January 5 warning that youngsters would be kidnapped or killed unless one of their members was released from police custody.
The Jalisco Attorney General’s Office (PGJEJ) quickly issued statements denying the existence of the signs but that was not enough for many parents, who decided to keep their kids indoors over the weekend and early this week.
Tlaquepaque Mayor Miguel Castro said the rumor started last Wednesday after a teenager was killed during a confrontation between gangs in the El Sauz neighborhood. He said the family of one two young men arrested had threatened to “kidnap children” if their relative was not released.
Jalisco Education Secretary Antonio Gloria Morales confirmed that an “exhaustive investigation” had not revealed any threat to students and called on local police forces to “stay calm” and not inflame the situation.
Guadalajara municipal police officers created panic Monday when they turned up at one Tlaquepaque school in force after an erroneous report that two armed men had been sighted in the vicinity of the facility. Despite Gloria’s pleas for calm, police chiefs in all five metro-area municipalities stepped up patrols outside schools this week.
Guadalajara Mayor Aristoteles Sandoval criticized Gloria for his comments, noting that under his administration’s “Safe Schools” program “every single threat is taken very seriously.”
The rumor spread rapidly by word of mouth and via social media networks. It also reached outlying areas of the state, including Chapala, where police chief Reynol Contreras insisted the threat was groundless. For parents’ peace of mind, however, he instructed officers to step up their patrols of local schools (both public and private) in the municipality.
The head of the Jalisco Parents Association said the furore created by the false rumors provides a opportunity for parents to become more involved in vigilance at their schools.