43 students from the Guerrero state of Mexico went missing after the police stopped their political activism practice from continuing on Sept. 26 in the city of Iguala.

38 out of the 43 students, who attended a rural teacher’s college that taught them about activism, were later allegedly found dead when, according to Aljazeera America, “federal authorities uncovered mass graves” near Guerrero. Although the remains in the graves have yet to be identified, many suspect that they are of the students.

According to Aljazeera America, the former mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, and his wife allegedly ordered the police to take the students away from the site where they were protesting. Abarca and his wife are known to “have ties to a local drug gang, Guerreros Unidos, according to Mexican authorities”.

On Oct. 27, according to a New York Times article, members of the Guerreros Unidos were arrested but leaked information that did not help further the search for the students.

On Nov. 4, the mayor and his wife were located and detained by the federal police after Abarca stepped down and fled from the city. 50 other people have been arrested as possible suspects, but no information about where the students were taken has been released.

The President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, says that this issue is his major concern and hopes that investigations can be cleared up from the many arrests that have taken place. He plans to focus on this issue as it could affect the nation’s economy, and he has so far taken the initiative to meet with some of the family members of the missing students.

Protesters have gathered in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state, chanting “They took them away alive, and we want them back alive!” and more recently, “Peña Nieto, get out!” as Aljazeera America wrote.

Misha Tseitlin (10) commented on the potential impacts of the backlash against Nieto.

“The major impact this has is calling for [Peña Nieto]’s resignation,” Misha said. “If he gets out of power, the vacuum with Mexican leadership is an issue […] We could basically get kicked out of Mexico if the wrong party comes to power.”

At one point, these protesters blocked all the highways that lead into Guerrero, and on Nov. 12, they set fire to Guerrero’s congress building.

Riots have spread across Mexico, in places outside of Guerrero, over the unresolved issue of these missing students, almost two months after the incident took place.

This piece was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on Nov. 21, 2014.