00:02Contrasting emotions in Mexico City on the opening day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,
00:07the city was torn between celebration and crisis.
00:10While fans danced in the stadium for the football tournament,
00:14more than 1,000 relatives of Mexico's missing people marched towards the venue,
00:19carrying candles and photographs of loved ones who had vanished, many without a trace.
00:25Their message was simple, as the world's attention turns to football,
00:28they do not want the country's missing persons crisis to be forgotten.
00:33According to official figures, more than 130,000 people are registered as missing in Mexico.
00:40The number has steadily increased over the past two decades,
00:43coinciding with the expansion of organized crime groups and the intensification of Mexico's drug war.
00:49Many disappearances are believed to be linked to criminal organizations
00:53involved in drug trafficking, extortion and human trafficking.
00:57Victims may be abducted, forcibly recruited, killed or buried in unmarked graves.
01:04Activists frequently face threats from criminal organizations
01:08and have criticized what they describe as inadequate government support and protection.
01:16Participant of how these initiatives live.
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