Tens of thousands march on Mexico City to demand justice for missing students

By Fusion Staff  |  October 23, 2014 | 12:42pm
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The growing tide of protests over 43 disappeared students in Mexico reached a new crescendo Wednesday night as more than 50,000 people marched through downtown Mexico City holding candles, singing, and chanting slogans of justice to demanded an end to the impunity and corruption.

Students from 29 universities participated in the march under the banner “Alive they took them, alive we want them back!”

The missing students, from the Ayotzinapa teachers’ college in the southern state of Guerrero were last seen on Sept. 26, after they were attacked by local police in the city of Iguala. Three students died in the shooting, and others were hauled off in police vans, according to witnesses. Investigators believe municipal police handed over the students to a local drug gang, which executed them and tossed their bodies in unmarked graves. On Wednesday, the Attorney General’s office confirmed what Fusion reported last week: that mayor of Iguala and his wife, dubbed “Lady Iguala,” were the masterminds of the crime. Both suspects are on the run.

See also: Protesters burn city hall in Iguala as unrest spreads over missing Mexican students

Many protesters held photos of the 43 missing youths from Ayotzinapa.

Student protesters were joined by a wide range of unions and community groups, as well as thousands of city residents who came out to show their support.

“Mexico has turned into an immense umarked grave” reads the sign held by the man to the right.

In this photo, a priest waved incense over the march. Many protesters, including the woman pictured center, held signs depicting images of other missing youth. There are more than 26,000 people currently missing in Mexico.

Last night, parents of the 43 disappeared students held a candle light vigil in the Zócalo, the historic central square.

All photos by Encarnacion Pindado for Fusion.

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