Hundreds of relatives of Mexico's missing people protested the Sheinbaum administration's perceived inaction outside Azteca Stadium during the World Cup kickoff. Some demonstrations escalated to clashes with security forces, as activists sought international attention for the country's nearly 135,000 disappearances.
The protests highlight a significant human rights crisis in Mexico and demonstrate how major international events can become platforms for domestic grievances, potentially drawing international scrutiny to the government's handling of disappearances.
Hundreds of relatives of Mexico's nearly 135,000 missing people marched in Mexico City on Thursday, using the FIFA World Cup inauguration to rally support and highlight what they described as a lack of government action. Protesters from grassroots organizations known as 'madres buscadoras' (mothers who search) traveled to the capital to participate in a candle-lit vigil and a larger march near the Mexico City Stadium ahead of the kickoff. Hector Aguila, who organizes a Jalisco-based searchers' group, stated that families are being re-victimized by bureaucratic processes and expressed frustration over the investment in the World Cup while missing persons are left in oblivion. Alexandra Campa, also searching for a missing relative, called seeking help from the state a waste of time due to constant changes in legal representation and a lack of solutions. The protests began peacefully with participants wearing white shirts or Mexican football jerseys with posters of their missing loved ones. However, some groups later tore down fences and clashed with security forces, leading to the deployment of hundreds of riot police. The government attributes the disappearances mainly to cartels and violence tied to former President Felipe Calderon's 'war on drugs,' stating that locating missing persons is a national priority. Critics, however, argue that weak state support and institutional backlogs force families to search alone in dangerous areas, with some activists having been killed. Ahead of the inaugural match, activists displayed thousands of missing posters and graffitied protest slogans on various city surfaces. The protests aimed to garner international support for their search efforts. The World Cup match itself saw Mexico defeat South Africa 2-0, with three players sent off in a chaotic game.
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