43 students disappeared on 27 September 2014 city of Iguala in the state of Guerrero in Mexico in the wake of student protests. Since then, there has been no trace of them. But now something has happened in the case surrounding the disappearance of the 43. The former Attorney General of Mexico, Jesús Murillo Karam, was arrested on 20 August, claiming he was involved in the case. Karam held the highest post, of those now arrested over the case of the 43 students, but he was far from the only one. Arrest warrants were issued for 20 army officers, five local officials, 33 local police officers, 11 Guerrero state police officers and 14 members of the Guerreros Unidos drug gang. All are alleged to have had a hand in the disappearance of the 43 students.
In Latin America, and especially in Mexico, the disappearance of progressive people is a common practice. Hundreds of thousands of people have been disappeared in Mexico alone as part of the fight against insurgency. There is no trace of most of them. Even though most of the disappeared can be assumed to be dead, the uncertainty about what happened is what burdens their relatives the most.
The current case shows the deep entanglements of the old Mexican state with the murderous gangs of the cartels and the deep corruption that extends to the highest levels of government and justice. The fact that the 2014 case is now being solved is mainly due to the change of government that has taken place since then. The PRI party, to which Jesús Murillo Karam also belongs, is no longer in power and has been replaced by the opportunists of MORENA. The fact that the current government is now pushing the investigation of the case and imprisoning Karam is mainly for its own benefit and shows the contradictions between the different reactionary parties in Mexico.
At this point we would also like to remind you of the manifestation that will take place in Hamburg tomorrow, 30 August. In the course of the international day of the imprisoned-disappeared the Alliance Against Imperialist Aggression calls for a manifestation for the disappeared Mexican revolutionary Ernesto Sernas García in front of the Mexican consulate (Parkstraße 69, 22605 Hamburg) at 17:30.
