Most people think of Mexico as a fun tourist destination full of sunny beaches and colourful colonial towns. Current Canadian policy seems to adhere to this vision, treating Mexico as a privileged trading partner, one of a list of safe “Designated Countries of Origin” whose citizens have reduced possibilities to seek asylum in Canada.

But as local and international human-rights organizations like Amnesty International have reported for decades, Mexico is a country in which non-violent political organizers are frequently imprisoned, tortured, kidnapped or killed by paramilitaries often linked to corrupt government officials. On September 26, 2014, the criminality of elements of the Mexican state was revealed in a particularly horrifying event when local police forces attacked a group of students from the teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, killing 6 people and “disappearing” 43 others.

The Make Mexico Safe Campaign aims to challenge the silencing of this reality and push both the Mexican and Canadian governments to face these injustices and restore justice. Sign the petition today and join us in the many activities we’ve programmed!