海角大神

As tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Mexico this week to call for the return of 43 students who went missing last month, many demanded an answer to one simple question: Who is in charge?

In the state of Guerrero, it's a simple question with no clear answer. The governor is under fire for doing little to stop rampant crime and violence; a local mayor and police officers are accused of being in cahoots with organized crime syndicates; and nine mass graves containing at least 28 scorched bodies 鈥� some possibly the missing students 鈥� were recently discovered.

惭别虫颈肠辞鈥檚 President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto addressed the nation last Monday, more than a week after the college students were abducted in the city of Iguala. He promised a thorough investigation and expressed outrage. Despite his tardy response President Pe帽a Nieto has avoided being pulled into the center of attacks on the government, a place his predecessor Felipe Calder贸n often found himself.

In fact, in his nearly two years in office Pe帽a Nieto has rarely spoken about violence 鈥� an issue that consumed President Calder贸n's agenda, including a public crackdown on organized crime and drug cartels. The former president's approval rating wavered as he often found the media message spinning out of his control. Pena Nieto has taken a markedly different approach, at least publicly.

鈥淭he conversation about organized crime changed significantly when Enrique Pe帽a Nieto took over,鈥� says Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute and the Wilson Center for International Scholars, a Washington-DC-based think tank. Pe帽a Nieto has deemphasized security as a feature of the 鈥淢exican reality,鈥� and focused on the country鈥檚 economic potential, says Mr. Wood.

But Mexico has come under fire for human rights abuses in recent months, including an alleged mass execution by military officials in June 鈥撎齱hich involved soldiers shooting the suspects with the victims鈥� weapons, attorney general Jes煤s Murillo Karam said on Friday. Now there鈥檚 suspected involvement of local police and the complicity of a mayor in the kidnapping of the missing students in Iguala, a town 120 miles south of Mexico City.

With more than 58 percent of Mexicans saying crime is a principle concern, according to the national statistics service INEGI, whether Pe帽a Nieto can continue to avoid the topic is in question.

The president 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 want to fall into the same trap or make the same mistakes that Calder贸n made, which is you become personally identified with the violence,鈥� Wood says. 鈥淏ut at some point, you get a problem so serious, that the president has to get involved.鈥�

Changing gears

A month into former President Calder贸n鈥檚 administration, he donned fatigues and declared war on organized crime. While Mexicans听initially supported his decision to send thousands of soldiers to stamp out crime in big cities and small towns across the nation, their enthusiasm waned as the social cost and death toll mounted.

In January 2010, 15 teens were gunned down at a birthday party in Ciudad Ju谩rez, sparking outrage across the country. Calder贸n said the killings were likely due to connections the kids had to local drug gangs; the murders, a settling of scores. But, when it turned out that the kids had no illegal ties, the president had to backtrack, acknowledging that innocents were increasingly targeted by cartels. This was a turning point in his administration.

Wood says today's public outcry over the missing students has echoes of when Calderon got involved after the birthday party shooting.

So far, Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 sideline approach to the drug war has led him to avoid the spotlight, even when the government has successes like capturing kingpins. Earlier this month, the president left the job of announcing the capture of top cartel leaders Hector Beltran Leyva and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes to trusted deputies, instead focusing his public appearances on ground-breaking energy, education, and telecom reforms.

His government has mostly ended practices like 鈥減erp walks,鈥� where captured cartel bosses were paraded in front of the press, and he avoids using phrases like 鈥渄rug cartel鈥� in national addresses. Observers say that may be changing as crime again becomes a glaring concern. Mr. Carrillo, of the Jaurez Cartel, was briefly marched in front of cameras after arriving at the Mexico City airport on his way to federal prison late last week.听

The government reports that the murder rate has gone down over the 22 months Pe帽a Nieto has been in office, falling from 22 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2012 to 19 per 100,000 residents in 2013. 惭别虫颈肠辞鈥檚 image abroad has improved, with international headlines heralding 鈥湶驯鸪婢背Υ氢�檚 Moment." Foreign Direct Investment hit a record high of $35.2 billion in 2013 鈥� though GDP growth was a small 1.1 percent that same year.

Erubiel Tirado, security expert at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City says the government strategy has, in fact, been 鈥淐alder贸n-like,鈥� just with some cosmetic changes. And听Mario Patr贸n, deputy director of the Miguel Agust铆n Pro Juarez Human Rights Center in Mexico City calls the president鈥檚 behavior toward crime 鈥渞eactionary鈥� and ad hoc.

When so-called self-defense groups picked up guns to confront drug gangs in Michoac谩n earlier this year, the president responded by naming a commissioner to take control 鈥� effectively sidelining the state governor 鈥� and pumping money into the state. He named an anti-kidnapping czar in early 2014 after citizen safety groups insisted the crime was worsening in parts of the country.

In August, Pe帽a Nieto announced the creation of a gendarmerie to provide temporary, rapid-response security in high crime areas. The group was deployed to Guerrero and disarmed the Iguala municipal police force soon after the discovery of the mass grave.

'Nothing to defend themselves'

As more information comes to light in the case of the 43 missing students, Pe帽a Nieto may be pulled deeper into the fray.

The missing students, from a college known for raucous protests and clashes with public officials over its budget and role in training rural teachers, went to Iguala on Sept. 26 to ask for donations to fund a trip to Mexico City. They were pulled over by municipal police after commandeering听three buses. The police opened fire on the students, killing three. Scores more disappeared.

A little over a week later, mass graves containing 28 charred bodies were discovered near Iguala. The single path leading to the graves indicates the victims were possibly forced into a , reports The New York Times. Though the identities of the victims are still unknown, many suspect the bodies belong to the missing. Families of the missing students have provided DNA samples.

鈥淭hey had nothing to defend themselves with,鈥� says Margarito Ram铆rez, a farmhand whose son Carlos is among the missing.

Mr. Ram铆rez and other families await information on the fates of their children at the Ra煤l Isidro Burgos Normal school in Tixtla, 75 miles north of Acapulco, passing the time worrying and praying at a makeshift altar to St. James.

鈥淲e have faith that God wants this 鈥� that he鈥檒l bring them back,鈥� Ram铆rez says.

Others took to the streets in protest.

鈥淵ou took them alive, we want them back alive,鈥� protesters chanted in the Guerrero capital of Chilpancingo this week. Some 22 police officers are currently in custody for their alleged roles in the disappearances.

鈥淭he police have been reformed so many times [in Mexico] over the past 20 years, but the problems still remain,鈥� Wood says.

The state of Guerrero, referred to as "El M茅xico bronco鈥� 鈥撎齮he untamed Mexico 鈥� has long struggled with violence and crime. A 2008 judicial reform process, which is supposed to be completed by 2016, has made little headway here nor in many other states across the country.听 It is up to the states to implement the federal reforms, but many have resisted.

Impunity is a widespread issue in Mexico,听with nearly 97 percent of crimes听in Guerrero state going unsolved.

鈥淭here are cases here of families that are too fearful to file a complaint鈥� for the crimes committed against them, says Sofia Mendoza, a city councilor in Iguala, whose partner, Arturo Hern谩ndez, was kidnapped and killed with several colleagues a year and a half ago.

Others in the city of 128,000 say they鈥檙e now keeping an even lower profile around town, and they鈥檝e noticed others staying home due to the perceptions of insecurity.

鈥淧arents won鈥檛 give their children permission to attend church events,鈥� says Manuel Victorino, who works at a local parish.

The president鈥檚 previous pronouncements on improved security can鈥檛 be correct, he says.

鈥淚f Mexico were calm,鈥� Mr. Victorino says, 鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 be necessary to say so in the media.鈥�