海角大神

Can a country restore trust after students disappear? Mexico takes responsibility.

For eight years, the families of 43 students who went missing in September 2014 have been clear about who they believe is responsible for the crime: 鈥�Fue el estado.鈥� (鈥淚t was the state.鈥�) The phrase is regularly featured on banners at public demonstrations and graffitied across streets and buildings in Mexico.

This month, a government official for the first time publicly agreed, labeling the haunting disappearances 鈥渁 state crime.鈥�

In the days following that announcement, former Attorney General Jes煤s Murillo Karam was arrested for his role in the initial investigation. At least another 80 arrest warrants have been issued for government officials 鈥� from local police to soldiers 鈥� and gang members implicated in the case.

And just last week, Interior Undersecretary Alejandro Encinas, who heads up the case鈥檚 truth commission, took many by surprise once again by elaborating on the state鈥檚 involvement not only in the cover-up of what happened to the students but also in how it played a direct role in some of their deaths.

The Ayotzinapa case, named for the teachers鈥� school in the southern state of Guerrero, has gripped Mexican society, drawing thousands of protesters to the streets almost weekly in its immediate aftermath and monthly in the near decade since. The case became a symbol for widespread impunity, dishonesty, and lack of care for victims in the Mexican justice system.

Now that the government has taken some responsibility for it, the state has a chance to regain trust of the populace. There is still much more to be done, families and experts say 鈥� whether that鈥檚 actually seeing those responsible convicted for their crimes or identifying where any remains might be. Ultimately the implications of this case lie in whether the government offers lip service about responsibility or holds those responsible to account.

鈥淚f you see your justice system failing over and over and over again, then you lose faith. You feel there is no system,鈥� says Kate Doyle, a senior analyst and director of the Mexico Project at the National Security Archive, a nonprofit housed at George Washington University in Washington.聽鈥淏ut if this case actually leads to convictions, leads to the identification of remains, or changes in the law, then [it sends a message] that this can鈥檛 happen again. Even if it鈥檚 just one case, it helps people think about the system differently.鈥澛�

鈥淚n my ... heart every day鈥�

Protesters turned out in the pouring rain Friday carrying banners emblazoned with the boyish faces of the missing young men, all budding teachers. The energy was cautiously hopeful.

But for Mario Gonz谩lez Contreras, who has marched down Mexico City鈥檚 main thoroughfare, Reforma, on the 26th of nearly every month since his only son鈥檚 unexplained disappearance, the demonstration didn鈥檛 feel different. His son, Cesar Manuel Gonz谩lez Hern谩ndez, is still missing. It鈥檚 a reality that overwhelms him with pain, 鈥渞age, and anger that we feel month after month, day after day,鈥� he says.

Nearly a decade later, a motive for the disappearances remains unclear, although most believe it鈥檚 connected to Mexico鈥檚聽drug-fueled violence and that scores of student activists from the teachers鈥� college were inadvertently caught in the crosshairs. They were taken off buses by police in the town of Iguala.聽They鈥檝e never been seen again.

Thanks to the interim report released by the Truth and Justice Commission on Ayotzinapa (COVAJ) this month, Mr. Gonz谩lez聽knows more facts about the disappearance than he ever has. He knows which bus Cesar Manuel was riding on, which street the bus was stopped on, and that it was the local police who kidnapped him. That鈥檚 where the information ends, though 鈥� and it鈥檚 just not enough for Mr. Gonz谩lez and his wife, Hilda Hern谩ndez Rivera.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep searching for him with the same love and energy as always,鈥� Ms. Hern谩ndez says. 鈥淚 love my son and he is in my thoughts and heart every day and night, but the government just doesn鈥檛 understand that.鈥�

The COVAJ report formally debunked former Attorney General Murillo Karam鈥檚 version of events, referred to by the former administration as the 鈥渉istoric truth鈥� of the Ayotzinapa case. His story described all 43 students being brought to a garbage dump where they were supposedly killed and incinerated, with their ashes tossed in a river. The storyline has long been criticized as an attempt to quickly close a controversial case.

For Mr. Gonz谩lez, debunking that theory was one of the most significant parts of the new report. 鈥淢urillo Karam caused us so much harm鈥� with his version of the truth, he says. But more than just sitting behind bars, Mr. Gonz谩lez wants to see Mr. Murillo Karam, who was arrested on charges of forced disappearance, torture, and obstruction of justice, share any information that he might have 鈥� such as who was carrying out orders and why.

Mr. Murillo Karam鈥檚 arrest wasn鈥檛 satisfying for Carlos Bravo Regidor, a Mexico City-based political analyst. 鈥淎 lot of people will celebrate that he鈥檚 in jail. But in a country like Mexico, with so much impunity and manipulation of the justice system, putting someone in jail ... does not mean justice is being served,鈥� he says. The same skepticism extends to acknowledging the state鈥檚 role in the tragedy.

鈥淲e are recognizing it鈥檚 a crime of the state 鈥� that鈥檚 great. But if that doesn鈥檛 come with actual names and evidence and an actual explanation of what happened, then it鈥檚 just empty rhetoric.鈥�

Trust the army?

Additional revelations 鈥� some not included in the preliminary report 鈥� continue to trickle out. On Friday, Mr. Encinas shared that six of the Ayotzinapa students were allegedly kept alive in a warehouse for days following their abduction. The students were turned over to a local army commander, who then ordered their execution, Mr. Encinas said.

The role of the armed forces could be a complicating factor for President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, who pledged to resolve Ayotzinapa when he took office in 2018. Although the president campaigned on demilitarizing Mexico鈥檚 approach to public security, the armed forces have become central to his presidency, as soldiers carry out infrastructure projects or control migration.

Although public trust is high for the armed forces, confidence falls when they carry out tasks like controlling protests, a shows.聽How this administration moves forward now that it鈥檚 become clear that the armed forces were intimately involved in the Ayotzinapa case could determine how much the public will continue to tolerate their role in everyday government tasks.

Transparent trials and convictions of military officials and others implicated will be central to progress, Ms. Doyle says. Until 2018, Mexico resisted setting up a truth commission, making it one of the few countries in Latin America 鈥� a region wrought with a complicated history of human rights abuses at the hands of the state 鈥� without one. The commission is imperfect 鈥� parents like Mr. Gonz谩lez and Ms. Hern谩ndez wish it was in better contact with them, sharing report findings before making them public. But it could help create accountability.

鈥淚f this all ends with the status quo we have today,鈥� of no real answers or criminals answering for their actions, 鈥渢hat will be crushing for Mexico, never mind personally for these parents,鈥� says Ms. Doyle.

After nearly eight years without their son who had dreamed of becoming a teacher, Mr. Gonz谩lez and Ms. Hern谩ndez aren鈥檛 waiting for anyone to provide answers for them. For three years, Mr.聽Gonz谩lez participated with COVAJ as one of five family members.聽He participated in its searches scouring hillsides, rivers, and caves across Guerrero state in pursuit of answers.聽The couple have traveled the world, meeting with other social activists whose loved ones have been disappeared and Mexican communities in the United States that have supported their crusade for truth.

In many ways, they understand that the responsibility to find their son, who Ms. Hern谩ndez says 鈥渋s still alive鈥� until she sees scientific evidence to the contrary, falls on their shoulders.

鈥淗ope dies,鈥� Mr. Gonz谩lez says, only 鈥渨hen one stops breathing.鈥�