Protests surrounding the disappearance of 43 students from a rural teaching college in Mexico have raged on for weeks with no signs of slowing.
Originally centered in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero, the demonstrations have now expanded nationwide, including a march last week in which thousands of protesters stormed the main square in Mexico City and set fire to the door of the National Palace. A national strike is planned for Thursday, Nov. 20, and thousands are expected to participate.
Kidnappings and violence in Mexico are not new — according to an Amnesty International report, more than 26,000 people disappeared in the country between Dec. 2006 and Dec. 2012 in addition to the 65,000 who died in violence related to the drug war in that time.
.This time it's different. The gruesome details of the forced disappearance and murder of poor, unarmed students has shocked a nation desensitized to violence and renewed calls for a revolution. Here is a timeline of events leading up to the current uprising.
Sept. 26: The disappearance
The unrest began with a demonstration involving around 100 students from Raúl Isidro Burgos Ayotzinapa Normal School in Iguala, Mexico.The students allegedly took over several local buses and were heading into town where Iguala Mayor José Luis Abarca and his wife María Pineda de los Ángeles were throwing a dinner party.
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| In this May 8, 2014 photo, the mayor of the city of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca (Right) and his wife meet with Mexico government officials. Abarca is a suspect in the case of the missing students.. |
Fearing the students' protests would interrupt their event, the couple ordered police to stop them. "Teach them a lesson," Pineda allegedly told the police.
Police then opened fire on the buses, killing six people and injuring more than a dozen. According to a state investigation, the 43 missing students were then rounded up and taken away in cargo trucks. This was the last time they were seen alive. At some point, the students were handed over to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, investigators say.
One of the students, Julio César Mondragón Fuentes, was found nearby the next day with his face peeled off and eyeballs removed, a move that suggested cartels were responsible. Gruesome photos of the corpse were posted on social media as anger grew.
Sept. 28: Iguala police arrested, federal forces take charge
State officials arrested 22 city officers for their involvement in the kidnapping of the missing students.
President Enrique Pena Nieto ordered federal police to take control of the city as he opened an investigation into the incidents. The mayor and his wife are suspects in the case, but still missing at this point.
Oct. 4: Mass graves discovered
The remains of at least 28 people originally thought to be the missing students were removed from mass graves on the outskirts of Iguala. | ||||
| Clandestine graves are seen in Iguala, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. Four more grave sites have been found since then | . |
DNA testing ultimately proved the bodies were not those of the missing students, igniting hope that they might still be found alive.
At least 19 mass graves have been discovered in the area since the search for the students began, underscoring the height of violence in the region leading up to their disappearance. Locals who lived nearby the mass graves said the area was a well-known dumping ground for corpses of those killed by drug cartels.
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