Tracing the Lost. Understanding and Addressing Disappearances in Contemporary Mexico

Mexico faces one of the most urgent human rights and humanitarian crises in the world, with over 110,000 persons having disappeared, 98% of them between 2006 and 2024, indicating a severe escalation in recent years.

Most of these contemporary disappearances are rooted in gender, racial, sexual diversity, class, and migratory status disparities.

However, a fundamental problem is the lack of reliable intersectional analyses that could shed light on the specific intertwining of structural attributes that heighten the risk of being disappeared.

Without this knowledge, effective strategies and public policies for searching and preventing cannot be developed.In this dire context, the TRACETHEM project will establish a systematic framework to understand and address the massive disappearance of women/girls, Indigenous and Afro-descendant people, migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those who are living in poverty.

Firstly, revealing contemporary disappearance patterns.

Secondly, fostering long-term collaboration among key actors in developing novel search models: families in their relentless pursuit to find their loved ones, State institutions, and NGOs.

This groundbreaking initiative will unite these stakeholders in a sustained critical process, evaluating and comprehending who seeks whom and how to craft tailored search models that may effectively combat and prevent contemporary disappearances.

Through cross-sectoral collaboration, where affected families will function as experts rather than just victims, TRACETHEM will design more effective search models, laying a foundation for cooperative and enduring measures and fostering a safer and more inclusive Mexico.The impact of TRACETHEM overflows Mexican borders, as the violence in this country is quickly spreading to Central and South America.

The potential to effectively address and reduce disappearances in Mexico is crucial for building adaptable tools that can apply to similar challenges in other regions of the world.