Mexican families lead search for missing loved ones

DW (English)

In Mexico, a mass grave of ashes, bones and hundreds of items of clothing found earlier this month has led to a promise of action by President Claudia Scheinbaum. The discovery has generated anger and mass protests across the country.

Transcript

00:00Guillermina's son, Jorge Alberto, walked out the door on March 24, 2017, and never

00:07came back. He's one of over 3,800 people missing in Zacatecas in central Mexico, where

00:14vast distances and organised crime make it nearly impossible for families to search for

00:19their loved ones.

00:21Well, we don't have the funds to move us all, or a vehicle which can take all of us.

00:32And we need to be official because it's too dangerous for private individuals to travel

00:37alone.

00:42Authorities provide police escorts, but the mothers do the searching themselves, often

00:48at great personal risk. Meanwhile, disappearances keep rising. Corruption, lack of resources

00:56and poor coordination hinder efforts by groups like the National Search Commission. Human

01:02rights groups accuse the previous government of downplaying the numbers.

01:08Human rights lawyer Yesenia Valdez explains.

01:11There were high hopes when a National Search Commission was created. Now, little by little,

01:19the institution is being dismantled. Not only have those in charge been replaced, but there

01:24have also been significant budget cuts, which means fewer workers. These disappearances

01:32are being made invisible, the figures are manipulated and there's impunity. It's sending

01:37the message that in Mexico, anyone can vanish without consequences.

01:44The discovery of skeletal remains in Jalisco triggered nationwide protests and outrage.

01:51President Claudia Sheinbaum has promised to improve coordination between prosecutors.

01:58But mothers say these measures already exist and they just aren't being enforced. In the

02:04end, it's the families who risk their lives to search for answers. Elvia Reyes even received

02:12death threats while looking for her son, Luis Antonio.

02:20We've been investigating with the people involved in the case. We've been investigating with

02:25them and they have given us some leads discreetly about where they might be. We found a lot

02:34of charred remains, a lot of charred remains. We took them to the prosecutor's office and

02:41five years later, six years later, we've had no findings about the things we brought to

02:46them.

02:53But finding results remains an uphill battle, especially in the absence of resources and

02:59political will.

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