The iguala students
As the saying goes, what you resist persists. For weeks, Mexican authorities at all levels have hurried to wash their hands off the massacre of students in Iguala, state of Guerrero. From President Enrique Peña Nieto down, they have searched and found someone else to blame, be it the mayor, the State government, the other party, or just a few people – and they have promised it won’t happen again.
But it happens.
The 43 students who on Sept. 26th arrived to Iguala from their school in Ayotzinapa to participate in a civil protest remain disappeared, after being detained during the protests.
Hired assassins have confessed to have killed at least 17 of them.
Several clandestine graves containing 28 burned bodies have been found. It is not clear that they are the students. Adding to the tragedy is the fact that they have not yet been identified, and that they could have been the result of another massacre.
The identification work will take up to two months.
We said in those same pages last week that these events bring into question the existence of a rule of law in parts of Mexico.
This same feeling has only expanded; the international community’s lack of trust in the Mexican government’s ability to provide security to its citizens is growing.
No longer is it possible to blame others: Not the previous president, not the opposition let alone the victims. The mayor remains on the run, there are calls to prosecute the governor, the local police have been disarmed
It’s not enough.
We were hoping the bloody events would be properly investigated and solved.
It has not happened. Confusion is evident.
The victims and their families don’t have the luxury of allowing those in charge to evade responsibility. They, like us, call for answers and solutions. To make matters worse, now they fear further retaliation from the police.
The facts betray a permanent impunity; a collaboration between organized crime and the agencies that should work for peace and justice. It is unacceptable.
President Peña Nieto claims to be deeply outraged. Sure, we all are. But only he has the resources to eradicate the indifference and contempt for human life in his country.
The time is now
