Mexico Readies for Mass Demonstrations for the 43 Missing Students

Unhappy with the official investigation into the case, family members of the missing, students and others were to gather in the capital and across the country to demand answers and the return of the teacher trainees.

Protests were also planned as far away as London and the Bolivian capital of La Paz, among other foreign cities.

In the Mexican capital, demonstrators were to march on Wednesday from the iconic Angel of Independence to the city’s main Zocolo Square.

Organizers have also called for protesters to block streets and highway toll collection booths on Thursday.

The 43 students of the Normal Rural School of Ayotzinapa in the southern town of Iguala went missing on Sept. 26 after police opened fire on them, killing six people, including three of the student, and wounding 25 others.

Following the incident, the teacher trainees were seen being led away by police who authorities say were in league with a local crime gang.

Officials have excavated several mass graves near Iguala, but they said the remains did not belong to the missing. Dozens of people, including a number of policemen, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the disappearance.

On Tuesday, the families and friends of the students focused their protests in the town of Tixtla in the state of Guerrero where Iguala is located.

A blanket with the faces of the missing youths was hung on the facade of the Tixtla town hall and the building was taken over by members of teachers’ unions.

Another group set fire to the local headquarters of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution in Chilpancingo, the same party to which Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre belongs, as well as Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca who is being sought by authorities.

Also in Tixtla, an armed self-defense group blocked access to the city, not allowing vehicles to enter.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Tuesday, a group of prominent Mexicans demanded that the authorities set up a Truth and Justice Commission to investigate the disappearances.

Activists have expressed their anger over the negligence of the federal government and municipal authorities, demanding the commission to make a thorough investigation of the case and to issue recommendations so that such acts are not repeated.