From Ayotzinapa: 8 years of struggle for the truth
Communiqués from The Committee of Mothers and Fathers of the 43
On September 26, 2014, forty-three students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College were forcibly abducted in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico.
The Ayotzinapa massacre exhibits the profound ongoing crisis. Brutality is exerted against rural, indigenous and working-class communities — seen as surplus populations within the sanguinary circuit of capitalist accumulation.
At a rally in Mexico City, after a strong storm, those gathered to demand the truth regarding the whereabouts of the 43 students, torn by the claws of the Mexican State 95 months ago, released a communiqué. The collective informed the public of their position after a report presented by the State-sponsored Commission for Truth and Access to Justice of the Ayotzinapa Case CVAJA was released.
The relatives of the forcefully-disappeared students acknowledged a degree of progress from the official recognition that the assault was authored by the state.
The report corroborated the participation of several networks of complicity that operated in the tragedy. Nevertheless, they deemed the results insufficient, as the path for answers has been plagued by obstruction and impunity.
The communiqués have been translated by taller ahuehuete in solidarity1.
8 years of struggle for the truth
Mexico City,
August 26, 2022.
The mothers and fathers of the forty-three disappeared students of Ayotzinapa salute all organizations and people who, in many different ways, have joined our demand for the presentation, alive, of our children.
It has been almost eight years. We have suffered, bitterly, and cried tears of blood due to the disappearance of our children. The darkness continues, the dawn does not seem nearby the horizon. It is as if time had stopped that rainy and dark night of September 26, 2014.
On September 17, the Commission for Truth and Access to Justice in the Ayotzinapa case presented a report.
For us, the report is relevant because it contains certain elements. For once, the recognition that the events of September 26 were authored by the Mexican State. This is significant. It shows that various government entities participated in the disappearance of our children, and that they should be investigated and punished.
The participation of bureaucrats was finally documented. At least four municipalities surrounding Iguala, alongside federal police, and elements of the 27th and 48th infantry battalion, as well as the 35th military zone were involved.
The events in Ayotzinapa are complex. Ayotzinapa involved the collusion of various state corporations and criminal groups that were allowed to control and direct the cowardly attack against our children.
The whereabouts and the fate of our children have not been clarified, there is preliminary technical proof that must be analyzed under the highest scientific rigor for us to feel at peace. Mothers and fathers need indubitable scientific proof of the fate of our children.
We cannot go home with preliminary indications that do not fully clear up where they are and what happened to them.
On the other hand, the arrest and indictment of Mr. Jesus Murillo Karam represent a step forward on the road to access to justice.
Today, the judge handling the case proved us right. Murillo Karam conducted a murky, irregular investigation. It was plagued with torture, manipulation, and polluted evidence, thus constructing a lie that prevented us from knowing the whereabouts of our children.
If other lines of investigation had been explored a few days after the disappearances, the success of finding out the whereabouts could have been more objective, however, the criminal and human actions of this gentleman and other officials prevented it.
Therefore, it is important not to let the actions of such officials go unpunished, so we will be filing charges against this person.
For our part, we will continue to demand the presentation of our 43 alive. We cannot give up the struggle until we have full proof of their whereabouts. It will be painful for our families to know of their fate, especially if they are dead, but if we receive objective, comprobable and indubitable proof, we will go home to mourn them and proceed with our mourning. To date we do not have this proof, therefore, our demand and struggle continue.
The report of the president of the CoVAJ opens new routes of investigation, search and exercise of the action that competent bureaucratic channels must follow and exhaust.
We call on all people, the people of Mexico to raise their voices so that the Ayotzinapa case is not forgotten and does not remain under impunity. It is up to this generation to fight for truth and avenge the pain, so that atrocious events like ours do not continue to happen.
ATTENTIVELY,
BECAUSE THEY WERE TAKEN ALIVE, WE WANT THEM ALIVE!
Committee of Mothers and Fathers of the 43
An update:
As parents of the 43 disappeared students, we reaffirm our commitment to fight for the safe return of our children; for the thousands of missing persons throughout the country, and for other struggles of rural and urban workers being fought throughout the length and breadth of the nation.
Today we have learned through the media and social networks that Felipe de la Cruz, who for a while accompanied our struggle, has registered as a candidate for federal deputy for the State of Guerrero, on a plurinominal basis.
In this regard, we state that he has the full right to exercise his political participation and political campaigning process. However, it is important to clarify that this is a personal decision, which was not shared or consulted with us, as parents of the 43 missing students.
Therefore, he does not represent our movement.
We disassociate ourselves from all the activities he carries out, and express that we will not allow the cause of the 43 and our pain to be used for electoral purposes and political interests.
Our struggle is not guided or motivated by partisan or other reasons other than to find our 43 children, as well as to achieve the truth and justice.
We emphasize our commitment to continue the struggle from below for the presentation of our children alive and not for public office and we will continue in this line. We dissociate ourselves from any partisan action that any person may carry out.
Because they were taken alive, we want them alive!
Attentively,
Committee of Mothers and Fathers of the 43 Missing Students of Ayotzinapa
Ayotzinapa, Guerrero
August 30, 2022
On the 28th of this month, some people called for a march in Iguala to demand the release of José Luis Abarca, responsible for the forced disappearance of the 43 students of the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa.
Unfortunately, five parents of the missing students responded to the invitation of Pedro Segura, a cattle rancher linked to the Abarca family and their criminal group2.
In this regard, we state that the attendance of these parents was on an individual basis, in no way did they represent the collective of the Fathers and Mothers of the 43.
It is clear to our movement the responsibility of José Luis Abarca in the disappearance of our children, according to the evidence in the investigation, which indicates that he should be punished to the full extent of the law for having committed serious violations and for having truncated 43 lives of young people who had the hope of becoming teachers.
We deeply regret the death of Mr. Ezequiel Mora Chora, father of the student Alexander Mora Venancio, who attended the aforementioned march, where he lost his life in conditions that we consider should be investigated in detail.
We offer our condolences and solidarity to his family.
We want to emphasize that Pedro Segura, by orders of the Abarca family and other power groups, has been approaching some parents for some time to try to co-opt and divide us.
The collective of the Fathers and Mothers of the 43 is united and standing with a unified, intact conviction to continue demanding truth and justice.
The attempts of division orchestrated by the groups in power and the mafias will not be able to stop us or undermine our struggle.
It is not and will not be the first time that we suffer these threats; in the past, caciques and rulers have tried to do so without success.
Our love for our children is infinite and our struggle for justice is unwavering.
ATTENTIVELY,
BECAUSE THEY WERE TAKEN ALIVE, WE WANT THEM ALIVE!
Committee of Mothers and Fathers of the 43
The International Organization for Migration, coinciding with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, released its data regarding 2022. An increase of 43% of reported cases was documented.
Between January and August 2021, 462 migrants disappeared, while in the same period of this 2022, 618 reports were filed. 6,569 persons in transit died or disappeared on their journey seeking asylum since 2014, 61% of them on the route to the border with the United States.
La versión en castellano se encuentra disponible aquí, cortesía de Noticias de Abajo, Medios Libres.
"We want to emphasize that Pedro Segura, on orders from the Abarca family and other power groups, has been approaching some parents for some time now to co-opt them and divide the collective of mothers and fathers.
The collective of the 43 mothers and fathers is standing upright and intact with the conviction to continue the struggle for truth and justice. The attempts of co-optation and division orchestrated from the power groups and mafias will not stop the march nor will they undermine our struggle. It is not the first time that we suffer these attacks; in the past, caciques and rulers have tried unsuccessfully. Our love for our children is infinite and our struggle for justice is unwavering," the parents of the 43 missing students declared.
Grammar corrections are being implemented by editor. Thank you for your patience.