Yesterday, as part of the #USTired2 movement, rallies were held in over 43 US cities for the 43 missing students from Guerrero, Mexico. The students went missing in late September after a clash with police and, while their whereabouts remain unknown, are believed to have been disappeared and murdered.
In DC, GHRC and partners gathered to raise awareness of the role of the US in funding and supporting the Drug War in Mexico and to call for an end to the US-Mexico partnership known as the Merida Initiative (also critically referred to as “Plan Mexico,” in reference to Plan Columbia).
After meeting in Columbia Heights, protesters in DC marched to Dupont Circle to join other groups demonstrating against police brutality in the US as part of the DC Ferguson movement. Shutting down the Circle, protesters shouted “No justice, no peace,” and drew connections between impunity for repressive and criminal state actions in Mexico with impunity for police violence in the US.
The protests were covered in Fox News Latino and Univision, among other outlets.
Information via Rights Action suggests viewing this interview with Dawn Paley, author of “Drug War Capitalism,” and this three-minute summary of ‘battle for a different Mexico.’