Desaparición forzada y trauma cultural en México: el movimiento de Ayotzinapa

The disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa in 2014 breathed life into a broad social movement. What happened on this occasion to generate a broad mobilisation of citizens? To answer this question, I believe we need to understand why and how Mexican society has framed the Ayotzinapa events. My starting hypothesis is that the Ayotzinapa events have produced a social process of collective trauma, and I will support this with Jeffrey Alexander’s proposal of cultural trauma, rarely used when analysing collective action. The analysis is based on ethnographic work carried out over one year (September 2014-2015) during the different demonstrations to show solidarity with the parents of the disappeared students, which were held in Mexico City, and 70 interviews held at the national demonstration on 26 September 2015 to mark a year since the 43 rural teachers’ college students went missing.