In the context of the International Day of Enforced Disappearances, members of five groups searching for missing persons held a march in Zacatecas through the historic center of the Zacatecas capital to demand that authorities expedite the investigations and determine the whereabouts of their loved ones.
The demonstration in Zacatecas began near the Máquina 30 30 station and proceeded along González Ortega and Hidalgo avenues, concluding at the Plaza de Armas, where participants displayed banners printed with search forms for their missing relatives and a red raffia fabric made by searching mothers to remember the victims of enforced disappearances.
During the march, protesters carried banners, photographs, and other objects alluding to their missing relatives, turning the streets of Zacatecas’ historic center into a living memorial that seeks to raise public awareness about this social issue.
Criticism of the State for Lack of Results
The groups of searching families read a statement condemning the Mexican state and authorities for “full-throatedly saying they are addressing this phenomenon, when the truth is that more people are disappearing every day, mainly young people.”
According to data from human rights organizations, there are currently 1,900 missing people in Zacatecas, a figure that demonstrates the magnitude of the problem of disappearances in the state.
Testimonies that reflect family grief
I ask society to please try to raise awareness, to try to see us through different eyes, to be empathetic. We don’t wish this on anyone, but the situation we are experiencing could be that of anyone. Genoveva López Pérez, member of the group
López Pérez is searching for her missing daughter, who disappeared six years ago. According to her account, the last thing anyone knew was that the missing young woman was with someone else, went out to the parking lot, and there was no further news of her. The searching mother mentioned that the previous Zacatecas Prosecutor’s Office closed her case, but clarified that the disappearance file was recently reopened.
She currently continues searching for missing persons alongside other searching mothers in Zacatecas, who have organized to keep hope alive and pressure authorities to obtain justice for the victims.
The march in Zacatecas joins national and international activities to raise awareness of forced disappearances in Mexico and demand justice for the families of missing persons.
Source: oem
