Mexico Congress Massacre Fire - A fire broke out at the Guerrero state congress in southern Mexico Wednesday after masked protestors burned the building. The Mexico congress massacre fire was an angry act by protesters seeking justice for the disappearance and suspected massacre of 43 students in gang-related violence in the region.
The Mexico congress massacre fire was followed by a fire set to the education department's audit office in the state capital Chilpancingo earlier this week. Members of the radical CETEG teachers' union began the fire, reports ABC.
Around 500 union members and students wearing masks reportedly broke into the empty state legislature and started a fire inside the chamber and the library, places where local lawmakers held their sessions.
At the time, angry protesters also burned down five cars parked in the immediate vicinity of the building, Press TV reports. 10 cars were also burned in earlier protests.
During the latest clashes with the Mexico congress massacre fire occurring, some riot police have reportedly been injured as they attempted to disperse the demonstrators.
A day following the blocking of access to Acapulco's airport for a couple of hours, protesters set fire to the Guerrero state headquarters of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Before the Mexico congress massacre fire, hundreds took to the streets of Guerrero Tuesday to protest their opposition to the suspected massacre of the 43 students. In the clashes that ensued, three police officers and two journalists were reportedly injured.
Violent protests have been recurring in Mexico since authorities revealed Friday that three hitmen from the Guerreros Unidos gang confessed to the murder and incineration of the bodies of the students. The gang members have also claimed that police had handed over 43 young men in September in Guerrero, resulting in the Mexico congress massacre fire.
The students are all trainee teachers. They vanished on September 26 after police shot at their buses in Iguala City. Six people died of the attack. The remaining 43 were apparently handed over by corrupt police to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, said authorities of the hitmen's confessions.
That incident which led to the Mexico congress massacre fire Wednesday, reportedly took place during a protest rally over teachers' rights in the region.
The massacred young men are all from a teacher college known for its radical leftwing activism. They traveled to Iguala to collect funds. They unfortunately stole four buses in order to return home, which led to them going under fire, according to the AFP.
According to prosecutors, the city's mayor ordered police to confront the students fearing a disruption to his wife's upcoming speech.
An event leading to the Mexico congress massacre fire, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said last week that gang suspects admitted that they killed the students in a landfill and burned their remains for 14 hours. Their bodies were crushed them and later dumped in a river. However, instead of declaring the aspiring teachers dead, he said DNA tests on the remains were still pending.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told parents that authorities will "redouble" their search efforts. He added that the investigation remains open. The government also agreed to a request by the families to sign an agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Wednesday for the provision of technical assistance in the investigation.
Parents of the students, who have a deep distrust to their own government, refuse to believe the students are dead, saying they will only believe DNA results from independent Argentine forensic experts.
The case of the vanished students, which led to the Mexico congress massacre fire, has turned into the biggest catastrophe for President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration. The culmination of events has cast doubt upon his assurances that his security strategy of fighting off drug violence in the country was finally bearing fruit.
Pena Nieto reportedly traveled to China for summits this week, nonchalant to critics saying he should have stayed in his country to deal with the crisis, which has now led to more unrest and acts of protest, such as the Mexico congress massacre fire. However, his Brisbane visit for this weekend's G20 meeting will reportedly expected to be cut short.
The Mexico congress massacre fire will undoubtedly not be the last act of protest amongst angry citizens if the crisis in the country is not solved soon.
