Each day disappears people without a trace i Mexico. I yacht of answer has female relatives organized sig i search groups that defies threat, violence and the authorities silence. The call The Searchers, that searching.
In the deserts of Mexico, groups of women walk with caps to protect themselves from the sun and rebar in their hands. Every step could lead to a grave where their loved ones lie. Under constant fear of threats and violence, they dig for the truth.
“I don’t know where or when, but I know I will find him,” says Lucy Diaz, whose son disappeared in Veracruz, to Sweden Radio.
The breeding ground of corruption
Since Mexico's militarized fight against drug cartels began in 2006, disappearances have increased sharply. Today, over 111 people are missing, reports the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHRMore).
The disappearances are linked to organized crime, lack of rule of law and widespread impunity. State actors are also accused of being involved, sometimes with the tacit approval of authorities, according to the International Commission on Missing Persons., ICMP.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was concluded in the 1990s between the United States, Mexico and Canada, not only opened up trade, but also gave drug cartels a “free pass” to the United States via Mexico. At the same time, large international companies, mainly from the United States, established so-called maquiladoras, factories where mainly American companies have their products manufactured or assembled in the country.
Companies were able to import components without customs duties, use cheap labor, and export finished products back to the United States thanks to the favorable terms the agreements offered. There, women mainly worked under terrible conditions, while men often migrated without papers. This created a fertile ground for recruitment into cartels and gangs, says journalist Erik Halkjaer, who has covered Latin America for over 25 years.
“It is easy to divide a poor society,” he tells Utvecklingsmagasinet.
Halkjaer believes that corruption, which was already widespread, became "extreme" when even government officials, judges and prosecutors could be bought.
“If Mexico had strong, independent institutions, the problems would have looked completely different,” he says.
Women's groups find their own search methods
Because many women feel they are not getting help from the authorities, they have developed their own methods for locating bodies. They follow tips from locals, map patterns, and search wastelands where suspected graves are believed to be located. Search groups and networks have sprung up across the country, often led by mothers of the missing.
The searchers, "those who seek" is a collective name for the women's groups. They search where the authorities do not intervene, with their lives at stake
One of these groups is the search group Colectivo Solecito. The women stick rebar into the ground. If the iron smells of decay, it is taken as a sign that a body may be there. The group has found over 290 bodies in two years, says P3 DocumentarySeveral of them have been identified as relatives of members of the group.
The work is dangerous. The women are exposed to threats, surveillance and violence. Aracely Salcedo, leader of a search group in Veracruz, now lives under a protected identity. She tells SVT News that the authorities not only fail to provide assistance, but sometimes monitor and make the seekers suspicious.
“This lack of justice and corruption means that women, especially poor ones, end up in a bind and become a kind of pawn in this very dirty game,” says Halkjaer.
Relatives of the disappeared say the Mexican government is putting more effort into adjusting statistics than actually searching for the disappeared. They believe the government is causing the disappeared to disappear again through a lack of transparency, reports The Guardian.
“The fact that they [women] are forced to expose themselves to these dangers demonstrates serious shortcomings in the protection of human rights,” writes Edith Olivares Ferreto, head of Amnesty International Mexico.
The organization demands that female seekers be recognized as human rights defenders and given legal protection.
The state fails – civil society acts
Photos: Nadia Bernal / wikimedia
María Herrera Magdaleno is one of thousands of women who have taken the search into their own hands. In 2014, after four of her children went missing, she founded Familiares en Búsqueda María HerreraThe network trains relatives on how to collect evidence and locate graves.
“We started in a small park because we had no other place. Now we have a venue that can accommodate over 3 people,” María Herrera Magdaleno tells OHCHRMore.
Erik Halkjaer highlights the role of civil society as crucial. Las Buscadoras mobilizes despite the dangers:
– There is a primal human power there. They turn over stones that no one else dares to touch and identify bodies that no one else has ever looked for. It's amazing, says Halkjaer.
Mexico has introduced new laws and investigative commissions in an attempt to reform the justice system. Despite this, serious shortcomings remain, reports UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED).
– It is still possible to buy politicians and judges, which undermines the entire legal system, says Halkjaer.
Media attention can both help and hinder
Amidst all the violence and betrayal, a strong female solidarity grows. But visibility comes at a price. Attention from the media and international organizations can provide protection, but also pose risks.
“If you don't have enough light on you, you can easily disappear. But if you get noticed, the perpetrators will think twice before they act,” says Halkjaer.
He also warns that the media often gets stuck in stereotypical images where women are portrayed as helpless victims and men as corrupt criminals.
“We must not forget all the strong women and men who have done amazing things. The commitment of civil society and the resilience of women are at the core of democracy,” says Halkjaer.
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