Various feminist groups and family members of femicide and disappearance victims placed a Day of the Dead offering at the Antimonument, located in front of the Palace of Fine Arts in downtown Mexico City, this Friday to honor the memory of women and girls who have been murdered or remain missing in the country. "We are here, as every year, raising our voices because today, like every year, we no longer have our daughters. Justice for those without a voice and justice for all the missing. They are not alone," the collectives stated. The protest occurs as Mexico faces a severe crisis of gender-based violence and disappearances. According to official data, there are over 133,000 missing person reports, according to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO), which has recorded disappearances since the 1950s, and on average, 11 women are murdered daily as victims of femicide. Human rights organizations and searching mothers' groups have denounced the impunity that prevails in most cases and the lack of institutional resources for investigating and searching for victims. An altar of resistance The offering, installed at the Antimonument for several years, has become a space of memory and resistance. "The chair is already empty, we can no longer even bring a plate to the table where that chair was left empty, and there is no one to replace it," the women expressed during the symbolic act. Among cempasúchil flowers, photographs, candles, and posters with the victims' names, the participants reiterated their demand for justice and truth. "For those who are not here today, for those we do not want to be gone, because we raise our voices—not one more mother, but one less daughter." The families state that their goal is to keep the names of their daughters, sisters, and mothers alive and to demand concrete actions from the state to stop femicidal violence. "Every year we return with broken hearts, but also with hope […] as long as we are here, they will not be forgotten."
