'They know': Protesters in Mexico demand truth about missing students
This Monday in Mexico, thousands of people commemorated the eighth anniversary of the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa in a large march in Mexico City.
On the night of September 26 to 27, 2014, 43 normaliens from a rural school in Guerrero, aged 19 to 21, disappeared near Iguala.
This case continues to upset the country and the families continue to demand justice.
REUTERS - LUIS CORTES
Text by: Gwendolina Duval
3 mins
Thousands of people commemorated the eighth anniversary of the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students in a large march in Mexico City on Monday (September 26th).
On the night of September 26 to 27, 2014, 43 normaliens from a rural school in Guerrero, aged 19 to 21, disappeared near Iguala.
This case continues to upset the country, and the families continue to demand justice.
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With our correspondent in Mexico
,
Gwendolina Duval
At the head of the procession, the parents of the
43 missing students
continue to demand justice, like Nicanora Garcia Gonzalez.
Imagine how I feel as a mother!
Eight years, not knowing what happened to my son and not knowing where he is.
It is very difficult for a mother!
“The ex-president must have known!
The federal and state authorities know things, as well as the military!
»
Solidarity reigns among the relatives of the victims.
Hilda Legideño has also been looking for her son for eight years.
And she can't stand the lies anymore: “
Since our children have disappeared, we have been taking to the streets, precisely to find them.
But here we see that governments are responsible.
They have this ability to make information disappear and to conceal it, including from themselves.
That's why we still haven't been able to find out where our children are.
»
At the time of the events, an investigation had been opened under the former president, Enrique Pena Nieto, incriminating the Guerreros Unidos gang and local police officers.
In 2019, under the current government, new investigations were relaunched, supervised by a special government commission.
The latter submitted a preliminary report
in mid-August denouncing “
a state crime
”
.
The document accuses the direct involvement, not only of the police, but also of the army in this affair.
“
Enrique Peña Nieto, the ex-president must have known!
The federal and state authorities know things, as well as the military!
They have answers but do not want to give them because they are covering up those responsible,
says Hilda Legideño
.
So what concerns us is that this government is only playing games with us.
»
feeling of bitterness
The press revealed that at the request of members of the public prosecutor's office, a federal judge canceled 21 of the 80 arrest warrants issued against soldiers and officials suspected of having played a role in the case.
Bitterness reigns among the families, explains their lawyer Vidulfo Rosalez: “
These are signals that indicate a step backwards, they are not going in the direction of the government's promises.
(…) There is no authority that is above the law.
Even if they are soldiers, they must answer in front of judges.
»
In August, the then attorney general of the republic, Jesus Murillo Karam, was arrested, charged with torture and obstruction of justice in the Aytozinapa case, and is expected to stand trial.
►Also read: Mexico: the former attorney general will be tried for the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa
“
These charges are important for the families, not only because these people are in prison, but also because they open up the possibility of obtaining more information to discover the truth.
This is just the start of the process.
And that will in fact be the main issue.
That these accusations can be supported, that they can pass all the judicial controls, that they are solid, resistant and maintained
, ”says specialist Maria Luisa Aguilar, for whom the holding of her trial is essential.
According to her, international supervision is necessary to guarantee the integrity of this investigation and to have a chance of obtaining justice: "
There are obstacles that still persist: institutions as important as the armed forces and the office of the general prosecutor of the Republic intervene to compel the truth.
This shows that the Attorney General's office has not changed in a country where impunity is almost total since it is so in more than 99% of cases.
»
In Mexico, the Ayotzinapa affair has become a strong symbol in a country with more than 100,000 missing persons.
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