Mexico City, Mexico — On the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Mexico City to protest impunity in the case, which was deemed a crime of the state but so far has led to no convictions of high-level security officials allegedly involved.
They railed against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who leaves office on Monday, for failing to deliver on a campaign promise to bring those responsible to justice.
In 2014, students from the college were traveling to the capital through the city of Iguala, Guerrero in southwest Mexico when their bus was allegedly stopped by local police. Investigators then say that the students were handed over to a local drug gang, Guerreros Unidos, as well as members of the Mexican military, who subsequently tortured, murdered and disappeared their bodies.
The disappearance and subsequent coverup has left a painful mark on Mexico, and has become emblematic of brutal state repression, human rights violations, and impunity within the country. No high-level official has been convicted for the crime, and last year, an international, independent investigative body accused the Mexican government of stonewalling investigators.
Read more: Investigation into Mexico’s 43 missing students ends, commission accuses government of stonewalling
In Mexico City on September 26, thousands of protestors, including students, rights groups, activists, and family members of the disappeared, descended on the Angel of Independence, one of the capital’s most famous landmarks on the main avenue.
Students, collectives, and supporters from all over the country took over the streets of Mexico City. During the march, the demonstrators shouted for the 43 students in unison, shouting: “It was the State!”
Holding high banners denouncing the mass disappearance, the protesters counted with anger and sorrow from 1 to 43, pausing to read the names of the 43 students.
The demonstrators marched along Avenida Reforma, through the heart of Mexico City, until they reached Zócalo, the city’s main square, which also houses the presidential palace and other government buildings.
Normally a gathering place for families on Sunday, the atmosphere at the Zócalo was one of anguish and anger. Drums beating in the background, students and activists shouted slogans demanding justice and denouncing President López Obrador for allegedly protecting military officers implicated in the crimes.
Official tallies reported over 10,000 demonstrators at Thursday’s protest. It also looked to this reporter that the city had deployed obstacles to make it harder for the demonstrators to gather — including steel blockades erected around monuments, the presidential palace, and government buildings.
The government also apparently made efforts to block access to the Zócalo for protesters, preventing perhaps thousands of demonstrators from passing through.
The protests came just days before López Obrador leaves office on Monday, September 30. Although exiting office as one of the country’s most popular presidents in recent history, his administration, which campaigned on promises of solving the Ayotzinapa case, is leaving with that goal unaccomplished and criticisms that he protected military officials instead of solving the crime.
Parents of the missing students have repeatedly demanded that the military hand over 800 documents related to the case, however, both the military and López Obrador have denied the existence of the documents and claim they’ve provided all related materials to investigators.
López Obrador at times has even spoken out against the parents, accusing them of acting against his administration. In July, he issued a report attempting to clear the military’s name in the matter. The parents rejected the document which ultimately fractured the relationship between them and the government, and accused López Obrador of lying and betraying their cause.
“Mr. President, let’s not be foolish; you know perfectly well who actively participated in the cowardly attack against our children; it was the army, you know that, and unfortunately, it sided with treason,” said a father of one of the missing during the protests in Mexico City.
