Background on the Issue
On Mother’s Day, thousands of women led the “XIII March of National Dignity ‘Mothers Seeking Their Children, Daughters, Truth, and Justice'” in Mexico City. The marchers demanded action from President Claudia Sheinbaum to dismantle the impunity pact protecting direct and indirect perpetrators of forced disappearances.
Protesters’ Demands and Concerns
Following the Saturday march, search collectives denounced that campaign promises, symbolic reforms, and institutional meetings have not translated into justice or discoveries. They expressed:
- Vacuous reforms and dialogue tables: These have only pretended to search for missing persons, with fiscal offices remaining weak and impunity sustained through state structures.
- Government complicity: Past and present governments have opted to manage pain and indignation instead of confronting criminal networks intertwined with local and federal authorities.
- Unaddressed national emergency: The official figure of 127,000 missing persons reveals a crisis that has not been addressed responsibly.
The mothers emphasized that without breaking ties with those protecting perpetrators within institutions, there will be no truth or justice.
Call for Action: Restructuring the Fiscal General and Removing Implicated Officials
During the march, search collectives demanded action from President Claudia Sheinbaum:
“President Claudia Sheinbaum: We are not ignorant. We want actions, not promises. If you truly wish to change course, begin by restructuring the Fiscal General and removing officials involved in serious human rights violations.”
UN’s Article 34: Last Hope for Pressure on Mexican Government
In this context, mothers supported the recent decision by the UN Committee against Forced Disappearances to invoke Article 34 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
They view this action as a last hope to pressure the Mexican government and activate an independent international mechanism for investigations, search, identification of victims, and measures to prevent recurrence.
A Day of Remembrance, Anger, and Exigition
“This Mother’s Day, in which nothing to celebrate, we also marched and shouted the names of mothers who are no longer alive to keep them present and remind authorities that for them, there was neither truth nor justice,” the mothers declared.
