Some context: A known mexican historian recently made a tweet calling into question if the number of students killed was as high as commonly thought, to the outrage of many. The tweet in question: https://twitter.com/aguilarcamin/status/1046246066004381696
"La cifra inicial sobre la noche de Tlatelolco fue de más de 300 muertos. Fue la cifra de The Gardian [sic], que [Octavio] Paz recogió en Postada [sic]. Años después ex dirigentes del movimiento de 68 pidieron a los que hubieran perdido alguien en Tlatelolco que lo dijeran. Resultaron 38"
Translated:
"The initial amount regarding the night of Tlatelolco was more than 300 dead. That was the amount published by The Gardian [sic] which [Octavio] Paz gathered in Postada [sic]. Years later, former leaders of the movement of 68 asked those who had lost someone in Tlatelolco to come forward. They turned out to be 38"
Note: He's probably referencing The Guardian and the book Postdata.
Is there a consensus amongst historians about this? What data do we have?
Thanks in advance
That "38" is the official number of missing people according to Grl. Marcelino García Barragán in a letter he wrote in 68, its an "official" number that crucially only corresponds to the death that were found in the place itself... supposedely, and as a heads up, The Guardian reported up to 500, not 300, so you know, obfuscating reported numbers, great way to start your highly politicized comment...
The problem with your question is that the Tlatelolco documents have never been completely uncensored by the Mexican government, this is slightly in violation of the rules, but I think its important to point it out to properly answer the question: Up until very recently the Mexican government was still blocking the massacre's investigation, closing the "Fiscalía Especial para Movimientos Sociales y Políticos del Pasado" (Femospp) in 2007 and blocking further legal action against ex-mexican president Luis Echeverria and the elements from the Mexican army involved in the massacre.
Without getting to technical, historians like Paco Taibo II, a very recognized mexican historian talks about "50 officially recognized death but 300 unofficially recognized, 700 injured, and 5,000 detained"
The problem here is that nobody knows for certain what happened to the detainees, where they killed? were they jailed? we dont know, there are rumors that they were burned alive or killed in Mexico's 1st Military Zone near Mexico City, but those are all rumors, in reality? nobody knows exactly that has been always been the problem for the last 50 years.
Definitive source on the subject: La noche de Tlatelolco by Elena Poniatowska.
