Grassroots documentation in the pursuit of (Transitional) Justice in the face of enforced disappearances in Mexico

Mexico is facing an unprecedented human rights crisis: more than 134,000 people are officially registered as disappeared, the highest number in Latin America. Although there are no formal transitional justice mechanisms to address ongoing human rights violations, the language and principles of transitional justice have become increasingly present in victims’ demands and strategies. In a context marked by state-criminal collusion, widespread impunity, and the persistent absence of official acknowledgment of the situation, thousands of families continue to search for their missing relatives and to seek truth and justice. This research project explores how families of the disappeared and other local grassroot actors in Mexico adapt and transform documentation practices and TJ language to pursue justice, truth, memory preservation and accountability, in the context without formal political transition. As a human rights practitioner, my research stems from over a decade of experience accompanying the families of disappeared persons in Mexico and seeks to reconstruct what TJ is, and bridge the emerging gap between theory and practice.