On early Tuesday morning, members of La F.U.E.R.Z.A. set up posters with names and photos of 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Teacher’s College students who were victims of an act of organized political violence.
Allegedly, the settler-colonial governments in Latin America targeted the students from Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, opening fire on the bus they were traveling on and kidnapping them.
“The students of Ayotzinapa were fighting for their communities and to deconstruct the policies set in place by settler-colonial states like Mexico that discriminate against black, brown and Indigenous people,” representatives Emma Barrera, Milo Cedilo and Navi Romero said in a joint statement.
Despite loose investigations, the students’ whereabouts are still unknown.
“Unfortunately, there has been no recent update on any findings of the 43 missing students. However, the people hold so much power and if organized correctly, we can dismantle the corrupt forces to ensure a better world for our communities,” the representatives said.
Even though the tragedy occurred nine years ago, protests around the globe still happen every Sept. 26.
“We want to show our respect and recognition to the student activists before us. They are the sole reason we continue to fight for student rights,” the representatives said.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has continued its investigation since the disappearance in 2014, with a technical team being deployed to Mexico from 2019 to February 2022. However, as of August 2022, a special Investigation and Litigation Unit lacked the resources and officials to continue a thorough investigation.
This is the first year since 2020 that La F.U.E.R.Z.A. has been able to host an on-campus memorial. For the past three years, the club has posted on their Instagram commemorating the students, as well as creating a short film and mentioning that they “wanted to emphasize a vigil this year.”
“The main hardship that COVID-19 gave us was that we did not have a lot of recognition. Many people were stuck on Zoom and didn’t give them the opportunity to investigate any organizations on campus,” the representatives said.
Despite this being an international issue, there are ways CSULB students can stand in solidarity with the cause. The club emphasizes research into the issues and policies on campus that control student activists, as well as how campus policies control student activists as well as black, brown and indigenous communities.
“Questioning why these policies exist and critically thinking of ways to dismantle them so we can fight for the education and space we deserve,” the representatives said. “And take back what we fought and learned back into our communities.”