The head of a commission charged with searching for tens of thousands of missing people in Mexico has stepped down, as critics accuse the government of trying to undermine the true scale of the disappearances.
Karla Quintana, head of the National Search Commission, did not elaborate on the motives for her resignation, saying only that she is leaving “in light of current circumstances.”
Escalating cartel violence has increasingly eclipsed large swathes of the country, with thousands of Mexicans reported missing this year alone.
Populist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s government has recently come under criticism for announcing it would carry out a census of the country’s disappeared. Critics say this is a tactic to manipulate numbers and “present a fictitious decrease” in those missing ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
More than 110,000 remain missing across the country, according to figures from Quintana’s commission—likely an undercount due to lack of reporting, distrust in authorities and endemic impunity.
Human rights groups—including the Center for Human Rights Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez—expressed concerns about Quintana’s resignation, saying that moves by Lopez Obrador would “reverse advances” made in the effort to track down the missing and bring perpetrators to justice.
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