Mexico's 43 Missing Students Inspire Activism North of the Border

A throng of about 2,000 protesters gathered at an intersection on a chilly night in Tijuana's Zona Rio neighborhood, holding signs and chanting in Spanish, “Vivo se los llevaron/vivo los queremos!” (“They were taken alive, we want them back alive.”) It was one of several ongoing protests that have stretched from one end of Mexico to the other, and beyond the U.S. border.

The disappearance and presumed murder of 43 students who were studying to be teachers at Ayotzinapa Normal School in Mexico's Guerrero state has rocked the country. The students were on their way to nearby Iguala to protest education reform when they were ambushed by police, who shot and killed three students and two bystanders on Sept. 26. They then grabbed other students and shoved them into police vehicles. A sixth student was later found dead, his eyes gouged out and his face peeled off.

The remaining students have not been heard from since the ambush. Police later admitted that they had been sent to “take care of” the protesting students by the mayor of Iguala so they wouldn't disrupt an event for his wife. The mayor was arrested, and the governor of Guerrero resigned in the aftermath.

Since the Ayotzinapa students went missing, search parties have gone looking for their remains around the area. They have not been found, but the remains of 70 other unknown people have been found in at least a dozen mass graves. With each new grisly discovery, Mexicans become more shocked and outraged. There have been riots and demonstrations throughout the country and beyond.

Some Americans are crossing into Mexico to join protests there. “I don't want to just come down and enjoy the good things about Mexico,” said Jagjeet Khalsa, 35. He lives in San Diego, but went to Tijuana to be part of a recent march.

“I want to make sure I'm being supportive to all the people, and I think this was an opportunity to kind of understand more of what's going on as well as show my support.”

Derrik Chinn, who is from Ohio but now lives in Tijuana, said he wanted to add support to the demonstrations. He said not only did he want to add his voice to those demanding change, but also because he is disappointed that there seems to be some political apathy this far north.

“What I'm often finding is a lot of indifference, and I was kind of upset by that -- this is really important. This could be you, this could be me. It could be all of us,” Chinn said.

A few miles north of the border, in San Diego's Barrio Logan neighborhood, people held a Mass and a vigil for the missing students on Nov. 19. They placed crosses and lit candles around an outline of a body chalked outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church with “43” drawn over where its heart would be.

“So many people here in San Diego, I think, have felt distant from there but wanting to do something,” said a pastor at the church, the Rev. John Auther. “But the distance, but also the border makes them feel, what can we do here?”

Border activist Enrique Morones said that he and other groups will continue to pressure Mexico's government to make changes.

“We are tired of all these kidnappings, the disappearances, the impunity, the corruption. Civil society needs to speak out and say we've had enough, and that's what's taking place,” said Morones.

“This could be the turning point in Mexico on all of these issues, because these are 43 students and they're very, very important," he continued. "But we're talking about tens of thousands of people who have disappeared, and that have been killed.”

Local lawmakers have joined the crowds calling on the Mexican government for more transparency in the investigation; the Obama administration has not yet made an official statement except to express concern. A spokesman from the Baja California state government said they hope to see those responsible for the students' disappearance prosecuted.

But in Mexico, there’s little faith in the government these days. And in the United States, a campaign called #USTired2 has surfaced online. Its stated goal is to get U.S. to stop funding the Mexican government and military. The #USTired2 campaign is coordinating protests on Dec. 3 in at least 43 American cities – one for each missing Mexican student.