Visualizing Ayotzinapa Through Political Graphics

Abstract

Political graphics in Mexico have a long tradition, and while they have been a powerful tool for expressing social demands and positions, this is particularly the case with the 43 missing students from the "Raúl Isidro Burgos" Rural Normal School in Ayotzinapa. This study examines the isolated and interconnected events that led to the forced disappearance of the 43 normalista students, the murder of three additional students and three more civilians, on the night of September 26 and the early hours of September 27, 2014. Given the severity of the events and the passivity of the municipal and federal government in finding those responsible, following the events of September 27, the families of the students, their friends, their fellow normalistas, and civil society took to the streets to demand justice. Thus, political graphics played a key role in making the event visible and demanding justice, which prompted the stagnant government structures to act. The study also re/views the initiative "Illustrators with Ayotzinapa," which in October 2014 called for and received over 350 proposals. Through this initiative, the remnants of early political graphics in the current era are examined, which require other media and resources. It is through signs and symbols that dissatisfaction and the demand for the resolution of the Ayotzinapa case are communicated, regarding the forced disappearance of the 43 students.