Mexico: Mothers searching for missing demand apology ahead of World Cup match

Ahead of the Mexico vs. England World Cup match, groups of mothers searching for their missing relatives marched in Mexico City. They demanded a public apology from the federal government, citing violence and criminalization against their protests.

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We are not groups of confrontation, partisan, nor are we against the government, all we demand is that our children be found.

The march proceeded from the Estela de Luz to the Glorieta de las y los Desaparecidos. Participants held an ecumenical service and a small soccer game to raise awareness about the crisis of disappeared persons in Mexico. They stressed that their cause is not political and they are not against the government or World Cup celebrations.

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A confrontation and direct aggression against mothers is something we do not deserve, because we are already suffering enough from the absence of our children to also be directly attacked.

Olivia Rosales, whose daughter Ximena López Rosales disappeared in 2025, stated that the government's previous apology was insufficient. She emphasized that the mothers are only seeking to make their situation visible and are not confrontational. "We don't deserve direct aggression, because we are already suffering enough from the absence of our children," she said.

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It is not possible that we have such a high number of disappearances and that they do not respond for this situation.

The mothers criticized the authorities for the high number of disappearances and the lack of results in finding their loved ones. They urged fans and society to empathize with their cause, reiterating that their protest is against the inaction of authorities, not against football or the World Cup festivities.

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We understand the mo