Tlatelolco massacre

The death of several hundred students at the hands of the Mexican police and military on October 2, 1968 is seen by many as a pivotal turning point in modern Mexican history. The conflict, which occurred just days before the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, emerged out of a student movement that had come into increasingly violent conflict with government forces in the second half of 1968 and which came to a head on October 2 in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco.