The Latin American Report # 333

Ayotzinapa

Relatives of the 43 students who disappeared exactly 10 years ago in the Aztec town of Iguala protested soundly yesterday, first at an event convened by young people from the Autonomous University of Mexico, aiming their “cannons” against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, incapable during his six-year term of office of delivering results to alleviate their pain. Also participating in the event were current students from the teacher-training school of Ayotzinapa, Guerrero state, from where those 43 young rebels departed on September 26, 2014, on their way to become part—as innocent victims—of an act that eats away at the integrity of the Mexican State.

The relatives again insisted that the outgoing president “protects the military very much”, because the pace of the investigations had been paused after the alleged appearance of evidence linking the Army to the disappearance of the boys. AMLO rejects the accusation. “[The] wound is still open ten years after,” claimed a mother. “Here we go around shouting to see if the people who took our children are moved in their hearts,” added another mother as she marched alongside thousands of people on Thursday afternoon. The relatives promise they will pressure Claudia Sheinbaum, who is inaugurated as president on October 1. However, it is fair to remember that the best time to find the students and claim to the authorities was during the second half of Enrique Peña Nieto's term, when the traces were fresher. When the echo of the 43's cries for help on that ill-fated night in Iguala was yet strong.

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The quick regional roundup

• In yet another demonstration of the shortcomings of Latam's civil defense systems, Mexican authorities report 10 deaths—a minor among them, a victim of a landslide—after Hurricane John struck the southern part of the nation this week, concentrated precisely in the state of Guerrero. In the early hours of Friday, already downgraded to a tropical storm, John was about to unleash its fury on the state of Michoacán. Hurricane Helene also punished other portions of Mexico during the week, although it also affected western Cuba, leaving considerable damage in an already devastated nation.

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• Continuing with the Caribbean nation, in one of the busiest deportation flights, the United States returned 62 Cuban migrants on Thursday, which brings to some 1,150 the number of migrants deported since these operations were resumed in April of last year. On Tuesday, U.S. authorities returned another 22 irregular migrants in a flight that landed in the province of Artemisa, adjacent to the capital. Official records show that some 196,570 Cubans arrived in the United States during the current fiscal year, up to July. Most of them are accessing U.S. territory using the CBP One application, which allows scheduling appointments to process political asylum cases at official ports of entry. Others enter through a controversial humanitarian parole program that requires a solvent U.S.-based sponsor.

• Pizarro's house was forced to decree a state of emergency in a dozen districts of the Peruvian capital, due to the protest of urban transport workers against a wave of extortions they suffer, which for the moment already includes three or maybe four murders, including the recent one of a young driver who did not accept to pay more than 2 dollars to his extortionists. This Thursday the workers staged a large strike in Lima to call the attention of the authorities. “Those of us who are [publicly demanding our rights] are asking the authorities to give us security because it is difficult [to expose ourselves like this and know that] tomorrow [criminals] could put a bullet in us,” they denounce. “[We] are asking for guarantees, security for the citizen [and] for [us]”, said the head of a motorcycle taxi drivers union. The problem also affects small traders and other actors in the Peruvian market.

_{Traffic chaos in Lima (source).}

Elon backs down?

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.