海角大神

Nearly four months since the headline-grabbing disappearance of 43 college students in southern Mexico, the victims鈥� families are still searching for answers.

So far, the DNA of only one student 鈥� 21-year-old Alexander Mora 鈥� has been confirmed. The Austrian lab working to help identify the pulverized remains said Tuesday聽they were unable to find any other match. The attorney general asked scientists at the Innsbruck Medical University to retest the remains, which could take an additional three months.

Despite聽government pledges to hold聽the perpetrators of this grisly crime accountable, progress has been glacial. But the case isn't likely to fade from public attention: victims' families say they聽won鈥檛 rest until they have concrete proof of their deaths; and scientists have challenged the government's narrative based on聽testimony from imprisoned gang members.聽

The 43 students at a teacher's college went missing on Sept. 26 in Iguala, a city in the southern state of Guerrero. According to the government, the students were kidnapped by police officers and handed off to a criminal gang 鈥� allegedly on the orders of the town鈥檚 mayor, who is now in police custody. The students were allegedly killed, and their bodies burned at a nearby dump.聽The Mexican government had to reach out to specialists to try to identify the remains.

The subsequent search for the students turned up dozens of unrelated clandestine graves around Iguala, highlighting the lawlessness of the impoverished region. About 100 people have been arrested in connection to the case, including Felipe Rodr铆guez Salgado, an聽alleged gang hit man arrested last week.

The Austrian lab results have fueled聽speculation over whether the government鈥檚 account of events is true 鈥� and given some relatives hope that their missing loved one could still be alive. The lack of DNA evidence 鈥渕akes us believe even less in what the government is saying,鈥� Epifanio Alvaraz, the father of 19-year-old missing student Jorge Alvarez, told Bloomberg News.

Families of the victims have聽pressed the government for access to Army barracks to search for any proof that their children may have been there. The government said last Friday that families could enter an Army base in Iguala.聽Federal prosecutor Tomas Zeron said earlier this month that there is no evidence troops were involved.聽

鈥淲e are not accusing the Army, we are not saying that they are responsible,鈥� the families鈥� lawyer, Vidulfo Rosales, said after the Iguala base announcement. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a legal obligation by the public ministry to investigate whether there鈥檚 any truth to鈥� rumors that soldiers may have played a role in the events.聽

Scientific skepticism

It鈥檚 not just the victims' families that are skeptical. Two Mexican scientists have published a report聽challenging the government鈥檚 account of events, and specifically how the bodies were allegedly destroyed in a mass cremation. According to a report by McClatchy News:

The mass kidnapping and presumed massacre has roiled Mexico, highlighting corruption at all levels of the government and adding to deep-seated beliefs that Mexicans can鈥檛 rely on officials to protect them.

Just over half of Mexicans say their country isn鈥檛 safe, and nearly 40 percent report their neighborhood is affected by gangs, according to the 2014 AmericasBarometer report published by Vanderbilt University.聽Regionally, Mexico has one of the lowest levels of citizen satisfaction with local police.

As 海角大神 reported in December, a sense of citizen insecurity can have聽larger repercussions:

The political upheaval in Guerrero 鈥� the state governor resigned in October 鈥� along with general instability and violence has led some to question whether or not the state can hold elections in June. Scores of public schools have been closed since last month due to violence, local media report, keeping about 10,000 students of all ages out of the classroom. 聽