The UN knocks on the door of the Senate and the issue hurts
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, left a closed-door meeting with Mexican senators with a clear concern: the situation of violence and impunity in the country is keeping him up at night. The focus was, as it could not be otherwise, on forced disappearances.
A dialogue where everyone defended their script
Ignacio Mier, president of Jucopo, came on stage first. He described the meeting as “an open meeting, a frank dialogue.” His central argument was that Mexico does not hide the problem.
“And we flatly deny that this is a vocation or that it is a practice of the Mexican government”
The Morenoist legislator put all his emphasis on a key term: acquiescence. He denied that the State facilitates or tolerates these actions. He assured that the commissioner was shown all the reforms approved to attack the scourge, blaming a “decade-long structural problem.”
But on the other side of the curtain, the opposition had a different script. Ricardo Anaya (PAN) celebrated that Türk listened to his voice and did not give “one millimeter” to disqualify the harsh report of the UN committee of experts.
Anaya released the shocking numbers:
- Calderón: 8 disappearances a day.
- Peña Nieto: 15 daily.
- López Obrador: 25 daily.
- Current news: 34 people disappear every day.
“A country where 34 people disappear every day is a country that has a brutal crisis”
For Anaya, Türk’s message was clear: a diplomatic but firm call to “open up to listen” to what is happening. PRI senator Pablo Angulo delivered a letter that speaks of more than 133 thousand missing people.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Murat (Morena) explained that the pro-government senators told Türk that impunity has roots in a Judiciary that “for more than 20 years defended criminals and not victims.”
In the end, the performance remained in an intermediate act. The UN carries its concern. The Mexican government exhibits its reforms. The opposition shows its chilling figures. And the families hope that this political theater will finally translate into concrete actions.
