Ursula Sanchez (MPA ’16) and CEU Colleagues Raise Awareness about the Recent Disappearance of 43 Mexican Students in Ayotzinapa

In cooperation with the Human RightS Initiative (HRSI) at CEU, five Mexican students including SPP student Ursula Sanchez (MPA ’16) are leading a university-wide discussion to try to answer the question, “Who is ruling Mexico?” They were prompted to act in part by the international movement urging local authorities to find the 43 students who went missing in Ayotzinapa on September 26.  “We feel this is the time,” said Sanchez, “to talk about key societal issues in Mexico.”

The five students agree that a distinct lack of accountability at the local and state level coupled with the violence resulting from the war on drugs have contributed to the lack of governability and a high number of deaths and disappearances across the country. Since the war on drugs began in 2007, over 100,000 people have been killed, and 20,000 more are missing.

“These students who disappeared after being taken by municipal police,” said Sanchez, “are emblematic of the current situation in Mexico. The municipalities and states are infiltrated by drug cartels and are not accountable to the people.”

With the help of HRSI, these five CEU students are inviting members of the international community to join in a video campaign to ask, “Where are those who are missing?”