“I don’t see Esteban Cervantes as a hero, in some point his action, not just put his life in danger, but also of the other passengers.”By Gabriel Infante Carrillo
Esteban Cervantes Barrera a bricklayer, who confront the gunmen, Luis Felipe Hernandez, who open fire indiscriminately in the Balderas subway station near downtown Mexico City, died on his attempt after trying to subdue him. After the event, the city government declared him as a ‘hero’ and they promise to give to his family a for life pension of 1 million pesos, a pension that is given to policemen families that dies on duty.
I don’t want anyone to think that I’m insensitive, but I don’t see Esteban Cervantes as a hero, in some point his action, not just put his life in danger, but also of the other passengers. We can not underestimate a man that has in his power a firearm, his mental state and how would he react, especially when he feels threaten and after he killed a policeman. Unfortunately there weren’t more mortal victims, but they were at least 8 people injured by bullet and several more were injured because they tripped or got crushed by the crowed tunnels and stairs of the subway station and few others were in a state of crises. The Balderas subway station is a interconnection station; the platform of route 3 were the shooting took place is located underneath the platform of route 1. So we can imagine how crowed the subway station was at 5pm on Friday, the passenger had no easy way out.
Concerning to the title of ‘Hero’ given to Mr. Cervantes and a for life pension to his family, in my point of view, these action taken by the city government, was just to comfort the family and letting them know that he didn’t die in vain, but it can also be interpret as an action to avoid criticism from the public opinion and the media. The Mexico City authorities shouldn’t feel responsible for Esteban Cervantes’s death, it was him that decided to confront the gunmen, knowing that he was putting himself in risk. According to family members, they described him as someone that was unable to stay quiet in face of injustice and anti-social behavior. Indeed is to admire his conviction with social justice, but they are other ways to achieve this as a citizen, but the task to subdue and detain Luis Felipe Hernandez, is exclusive competence of the police forces.
I don’t see any reason of why the pension that the government offered to the family, due to the fact the that money is destine to the families of policemen that dies in duty, and taking into account that the policeman are badly paid.
I’m well aware, as a Mexico City resident, and like many who live in this huge metropolis, we are fade up and feel impotence by the criminality and insecurity that prevails not just in this city, but throughout the country, as well as the incompetence of the authorities, but taking justice in our own hands won’t do any good, this could lead us to a state of anarchy. Our role as citizens is to demand the authorities to do their jobs and denounce any criminal act, this might sound useless, but by no means, we citizens have to put ourselves in danger by doing the job of the authorities.
With these, I’m not trying to discredit Esteban Cervantes Barrera and his family, on the contrary, I strongly believe that he shouldn’t have died and leave behind a whole family full of sorrow and pain. I totally agree with Esteban’s brother, when he stated to the local media “if this was the price so he could be recognized as a hero, I would have preferred that he hadn’t done what he did”.
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Foto: Esteban Cervantes Barrera, body after been shot in the head.
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