Will Mexico's president-elect help relatives looking for missing loved ones?
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The number of people missing in Mexico grew to over 100,000 last year. That's a figure, though, that's been disputed by the Mexican government. The relatives of the disappeared are questioning if President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will do any better in helping them find their loved ones. NPR's Lilly Quiroz reports from the outskirts of Mexico City, where she met with Madres Buscadoras, a group of mothers searching for their children.
LILLY QUIROZ, BYLINE: A dozen of us meet on the side of a busy road facing the inactive Xaltepec Volcano.
It's this huge mound of dirt, red ash, and one of the searchers tells us this is a popular place to dispose of bodies because once the bodies are thrown into the volcano, they're submerged, and they're hard to find, and remain hidden.
We don't linger, and we head toward the volcano. Madres Buscadoras go on daily searches all over Mexico. And for a month, they've been trying to get access to what they believe is a hidden grave here. They claim the government always stops them from doing these types of searches. And just like that, we're stopped by a police officer at the entrance.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: We're told the whole area is off-limits.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #2: (Non-English language spoken).
VIRGINIA PONCE: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: She's been searching for her son, Victor, who disappeared in 2020 at the age of 30. Ponce took it upon herself to search for her son after nearly two years of waiting for the attorney general to give her answers. But she's not here just for him.
PONCE: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: She says she's here to support the women of Mexico and help them find their loved ones. I ask her if a woman president will change things.
PONCE: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: "I doubt it," she says.
PONCE: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: Still, she hopes God will return her son, dead or alive. She says he deserves a dignified resting place. After 30 minutes, the local police chief arrives, and we're still denied access to the alleged grave site.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE CHIEF: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: The chief says the searching mothers are the reason this area is heavily guarded. So we head out to another nearby site the Madres Buscadoras received anonymous tips about. Flores is able to talk freely here.
FLORES: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: She says the authorities fear the mothers because they expose the government's failures. She's been helping people find that disappeared for nine years now. She's still in search of her own sons, Alejandro and Marco Antonio.
(SOUNDBITE OF DIGGING)
QUIROZ: The volunteer searchers get to digging right away.
FLORES: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: They're using shovels and makeshift tools because Flores says no one will let them borrow an excavator to help them dig deeper. People are afraid of retaliation if they help the Madres Buscadoras in any way. Flores says homes have been burnt down. She doesn't know who's behind it, but one thing is clear - she doesn't trust her government.
In December of last year, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered a recount of Mexico's disappeared. It was the database his administration created in 2018, but was now rejecting because the numbers were, quote, "manipulated." The new database of missing people was initially cut from over 110,000 to around 12,000. But after some pushback, the numbers were mostly all reinstated.
FLORES: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: Flores says the reputation is damaged by the outrageous number of missing people. She doesn't have any hope President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will do any better.
FLORES: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: Flores says she'll put her foot on her head and won't let us accomplish anything. She picks up the shovel and gets to digging.
(SOUNDBITE OF DIGGING)
QUIROZ: Her phone rings.
(SOUNDBITE OF PHONE RINGING)
QUIROZ: A volunteer answers for her.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Bueno.
QUIROZ: A woman is calling to say her son, who was missing for four months, has been found alive.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: Less than two minutes later, another woman calls, and she pleads for more photos of a man she suspects is her brother. The work is endless. In Mexico, people go missing every day. Flores says it's a thankless job. Yet...
FLORES: (Non-English language spoken).
QUIROZ: She says she won't abandon these women, even when they find nothing.
Lilly Quiroz, NPR News, Mexico City.
(SOUNDBITE OF FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO'S "AMOR E CARINHO")
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