You don’t hear them before you see them, I am meeting the demonstrations of the missing 43 students teachers on our way from Plaza de la revolution to Bellas Artes in the center of Mexico City.
The 43 Students teachers were from a radical teachers college whom disappeared the 26th of September 2014, after a clash with the police in Iguala, a city which is located in the southern state of Guerrero nearly 3 hours south west of Mexico City.
It has just started to rain heavily when I’m meeting the demonstration. When I am looking over the demonstration can I see a lot of colourful umbrellas and banders with messages to the government. One massage that is very clear is a banner with the words “faltan… 43” (Missing…43), according to the number of the student.
Walking in salience
Women have painted the number 43 in their faces but nobody are saying anything, they are all marching in silence and peace. The whole demonstration is leaded by the parents of the 43 missing students. They have refused the government version that their sons are dead and have called for a new investigation under international supervision.
Even though the demonstrators are walking in peace the police is still ready. They are looking heavy with their helmets and shields. I’m not staying to long with the demonstration nice Adriana who is Mexican don’t like to be close to the demonstration. She doesn’t want us to fallow the demonstration even though we only need to fallow the demonstration a few hundred meters, because as she explain this is a demonstration against the government so you never know how they will react.
The point of being afraid of being against the government and therefore being in silence is what the peace and anti-crime activist Maria Guadalupe Vicencio wants to change by this movement which she points out in her comment to the Guardian: “The Students’ movement sets an example for all Mexicans to wake up, and not be silent””.
In 2007 did the country’s drug war intensify and according to the Mexican government have more than 25,000 people disappeared in the country between 2007 and 31 July 2015. According to the Transparency Internationals corruption list from 2014 is Mexico Ranked nr. 103 out of 175 countries.
The sceptic of the government from the demonstrators is clear according to the teacher Pedro Juárez who to “Vice News” said; “Over the past year the government has not responded (to the protest movement)” and continue, “the government does not share the feelings of the people. This is the response of the people”.
Toke Bull 