Women searcher collectives, who are planning a peaceful protest to coincide with the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Mexico City Stadium, must be protected and heard, said Amnesty International ahead of the tournament’s curtain-raiser on 11 June.
Thousands of people are expected to attend a march in the country’s capital which has been organized by women in honour of their disappeared loved ones – many of whom were forcibly recruited into drug cartels or murdered for resisting. Amnesty International will be observers at the protest and interviewees will be available.
As of 25 May 2026, the National Registry had recorded 134,460 missing persons in Mexico. With little support from authorities, women seeking truth, justice and remedy have been forced to search for their loved ones themselves, filling the gaps left when those in power look the other way. Now, the women, whose slogan is ‘Don’t play with our pain’, are calling for justice for their loved ones, better safety and for the authorities to accept support from other countries to assist with their search.
“As tens of millions of people around the world prepare to tune into what FIFA is calling ‘the greatest opening ceremony on earth’, thousands of brave women in Mexico will use the opportunity to take to the streets and remind the world that their loved ones are still missing and that their search for them continues,” said Edith Olivares Ferreto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mexico.
