Pink bikers fight drug war

Social workers, drug trade experts blame years of political corruption, mismanagement for lack of support for poor

CIUDAD JUAREZ: A group of middle-class Mexican women on pink motorcycles set out on a mission to distribute food and medicine to the poor in one of the world’s deadliest cities. The bikers’ main motive has been to protest and allay the widespread deprivation that they believe is stirring violence.

Braving the drug gang turf wars in Ciudad Juarez that have killed some 6,700 people since 2008, the club calls itself ‘Las Guerreras’ (The Female Warriors).

The 10-member group aims to help single mothers, addicts, the elderly, the jobless and many others who have no access to welfare and feel completely abandoned.

“There are people who have nothing, or almost nothing,” said Lorenia Granados, a co-founder of the group set up two years ago. The women say their pink bikes aim to project a less threatening, feminine image that sets them apart from drug hit men sometimes known to kill targets from motorcycles.

Many social workers and drug trade experts blame years of political corruption and mismanagement for the lack of support for the poor. President Felipe Calderon launched a major social program aimed at rebuilding Ciudad Juarez last year, but locals say progress is slow.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2011.