Thousands march in Mexico City demanding answers on 12-year-old teacher-trainee disappearances

A mass demonstration took place in Mexico City on Sept 26, where thousands of participants dressed in red and bore mock coffins to call for clarity on the fate of the 43 Ayotzinapa teacher trainees who disappeared in 2014. The march, organized by the victims’ parents, included repeated chants of “43” to honor each missing student and slogans demanding the return of the bodies alive. President Claudia Sheinbaum, known for meeting families of the disappeared, is slated to deliver a report on Sept 28 after the attorney-general’s office completed an exhaustive evidence review.

Protesters highlighted the ongoing anguish, citing twelve years of lies and a national tally of more than 134,000 missing persons. Earlier investigations blamed local police and a drug cartel, a conclusion rejected by independent human-rights experts, while a former governor and a former state attorney-general have faced arrests related to the case. The protest underscores the persistent crisis of forced disappearances and pressure on Mexican authorities to resolve the case.