In Mexico, AJWS supports collectives of family members searching for their disappeared loved ones and Indigenous-led organizations fighting for their communities’ rights for self-determination. Since 2006, when the so-called ‘war on drugs’ started, Mexico has been consumed with a wave of violence, a product of a complex combination of the expansion of drug cartels, corrupt officials and widespread militarization. More than 110,000 people have been disappeared, and the crisis has left thousands of families searching for answers. AJWS supports collectives of these families in their search to find their missing loved ones and pursue truth and justice. They are building a powerful, national movement of families fighting for an end to impunity and inclusion in decision-making about solutions to the disappearance crisis.
AJWS also supports Indigenous organizations and coalitions that advocate for the rights of the 23+ million Indigenous Peoples from 68 officially recognized ethnic groups in Mexico. Our grantees use legal strategies to ensure that affected Indigenous communities have an active role in approving any proposed infrastructure or energy project on their territories. Corn is also an integral part of Indigenous identities, and partner organizations work to conserve heirloom corn and stop the expansion of GMO seeds in the Mexican countryside by promoting seed exchanges and seed banks, and advocating in national and international policy spaces to regulate GMO crops.
