Remembering Blanca Martínez: at the origin of the struggle for the desaparecidos

Thomas Aureliani

doi:10.54103/cross-30369

Authors

Thomas Aureliani University of Milan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54103/cross-30369

Keywords:

Blanca Martínez; Mexico; human rights; activism; enforced disappearances., Blanca Martínez, Mexico, human rights, activism, enforced disappearances

Abstract

This article aims to outline the profile of Blanca Martínez, an important Mexican human rights activist who died prematurely on November 10, 2025, following complications during surgery. Through a series of personal interviews with the activist and other secondary sources, this article describes her militant life—which was intertwined with some decisive phases of contemporary Mexican history, such as the Zapatista era—while highlighting her importance in mobilizing the families of the desaparecidos during the last decades of the war on drug trafficking.

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