Pope Francis Must Resist Mexico's Well-Oiled Public Relations Machine Erika Guevara Rosas - Amnesty International
go to original February 10, 2016

As Mexico prepares to receive the Pope this weekend, relatives of the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students criticize the Pope's failure to guarantee a meeting with them. (teleSUR English)

Pope Francis’ visit to Mexico was controversial from the start. It is one of the most reverently Catholic countries in the world but with a shocking human rights record. It was reported that high on the Pope’s agenda were the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students and the plight of thousands of Central American migrants, but this did not seem to sit well with the administration of President Peña Nieto.

Mexico’s current state of play when it comes to human rights is so atrocious it is on a par with some of the worst times in the country’s recent history.

There’s no way to sugar coat it, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

The figures speak for themselves: Nearly half of the country’s population lives in poverty, with the numbers rising. The average monthly figures for murders in the context of Mexico’s brutal ”war against organized crime” have also increased in recent years.

More than 27,000 people have gone missing – almost half of them since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in 2012; many of them have been forcibly disappeared.

The number of reported cases of torture and other ill-treatment has increased substantially; between 2013 and 2014, the number of complaints of torture filed at the federal level doubled.

Crimes are rarely properly investigated.

The catalogue of horrors taking place in every corner of this colorful and vibrant land is so long and grim it amounts to a human rights crisis of epidemic proportions.

Read the rest at Amnesty International

Related: When the Pope Visits Mexico, He Should Ensure Its Rights Violations See Daylight (The Guardian)

Related: Catholic Group Urges Pope to Allow Contraception to Fight Zika (Reuters)

Related: Pope Francis Passes Up Meeting with Mexican Victims of Serial Abuser Marcial Maciel (Independent)

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