Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Mexico have marked the first anniversary of the disappearance of 43 college students. Many protesters here in
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Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Mexico have marked the first anniversary of the disappearance of 43 college students.
Many protesters here in Mexico City are demanding answers from the government, unconvinced by its claim that the trainee teachers were abducted by corrupt police and handed over to a drug gang who killed them and incinerated their bodies.
Protesters in Guerrero, the impoverished southwestern state where the students went missing, included parents and relatives of the missing students who have vowed to continue their battle for justice.
“We are going to keep fighting, and if they [the government] are going to kill us, so be it, because they are our children and we are going to continue fighting, says Severo Guerrero, the uncle of three missing students. “We tell the government that we are not afraid of them, and they better not threaten us, because we are going to continue fighting.”
Many family members refuse to give up hope that their loved ones are still alive.
The disappearance has exposed deep flaws in Mexico’s justice system and sent shockwaves through the country, where more than 100,000 people have died in drug-related violence since 2007.