Mexico is a country of sad mothers. Thousands of relatives of the disappeared, most of them women, have come out to demonstrate this May 10, Mother’s Day, to make visible the crisis of disappearances that the country is experiencing. Collectives from all states have gathered in Mexico City in what they have called the “National March of Seeking Mothers.” It is estimated that more than 100,000 people have disappeared in Mexico, most of them in the last 18 years. Concentrations have been added to the day in Jalisco, Puebla, Colima, Zacatecas, Veracruz and Oaxaca, among other points.
Claudia García Rosas walks at the head of the demonstration. She is 52 years old and holds a sign with the face of her son Roberto Hernández García, who disappeared in Nuevo León in 2011. “I have not been able to find him, neither alive nor dead,” says the woman. “I’m looking for him alone because the authorities are not doing her job,” she denounces with anger and resignation.
The march advances in front of the Monument to the Revolution, this Friday.Hector Guerrero
The story of this mother and her son is repeated in hundreds, thousands of cases: armed men took the boy, others were kidnapped at gunpoint, others were driving on a highway, others were grabbed when they were in a bar or They picked them up after work… After that, silence. They were never heard from again. The authorities opened an investigation folder that shortly after remained at the bottom of a drawer. 13 years later, only his mother is looking for Roberto Hernández García with a pick and shovel in the thousands of clandestine graves that exist throughout the country.
In 2010 someone took Óscar Antonio López Herrero in the State of Jalisco. His mother, Ana Enamorado, originally from Honduras, has been looking for him since then. She is part of the Regional Network of Migrant Collectives that accompanies families from Central America. Forced disappearance is a phenomenon that also affects migrants during their journey to the United States. “There are thousands of missing migrants even though the State has not wanted to recognize it,” says Enamorado on a very painful day for her because May 10 is also her son’s birthday. “At this same time 34 years ago I was giving birth, today I am here demanding justice for Oscar.”
“Where are they, where are they? “Where are our children?” Entire families shout in the same voice torn by pain, loss and lack of information. They come from all corners of the country: Jalisco, Michoacán, Sonora, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla, State of Mexico, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato, among others. It is estimated that in Mexico there are more than 200 groups of family members looking for their loved ones.
Disappearances in the country have increased as violence intensified with the well-known “war on drug trafficking” during the six-year term of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012). “It is one of the manifestations of the violence that was generated in Mexico after the security strategy was militarized,” says Humberto Guerrero, Human Rights coordinator at the Fundar organization. But who disappears the disappeared? That is one of the big questions surrounding the phenomenon. “Sometimes it is organized crime, other times it is the State. Sometimes one and the other are the same,” Guerrero responds.
In the midst of an electoral campaign, the tragedy of the missing is a thorny issue to discuss. While the opposition uses it to attack the Government, the ruling party tries to dodge the bullet by cutting the official figures from the National Registry of Missing or Missing Persons. “It is one of the problems that has not stopped since the six-year term of Calderón, Peña Nieto and now López Obrador; in fact, it has worsened in new regions, for example, in Guanajuato or Zacatecas,” explains Guerrero. Meanwhile, the families have been left trapped and alone between the political dispute and the violence that has already claimed the lives of several of these trackers. “I think it is the most serious problem that this country has on the human rights agenda,” adds the specialist.
For his part, President López Obrador has taken advantage of his morning conference to congratulate the mothers, but has avoided making any comments about the sad reality that thousands of families are experiencing. “Congratulations to all the mothers of our country and other countries,” he declared with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Afterwards, a group of mariachis sang the popular Mañanitas as a celebration. “No politics, no questions and answers. “It is for mothers,” the president concluded.
A banner presents the names and faces of dozens of missing people, this May 10 in front of the Hemiciclo a Juárez.Hector Guerrero
A few hours later, hundreds of mothers have arrived at the capital’s Zócalo in front of the National Palace, where the president lives. “This day is not a holiday. “It is about struggle and protest!” the searchers shout. The center of Mexico City has been filled with faces and names that put a face to one of the most serious tragedies that the country is going through, as Claudia García Rosas says: “I’m not only looking for my son, I’m looking for the thousands of missing people there are.” in Mexico. For me there is no May 10 celebration because half of my heart is missing.” Despite the pain, there is a lot of strength in their bodies. Lots of love. Mexico is a country of sad and strong mothers.
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