Reporting on the fate of Mexico’s 43 missing students

I made my live TV debut on Sky News in the UK last Saturday, discussing the fate of the 43 missing students from the Ayotzinapa college and the massive impact the case has had in Mexico.

It was my first time on television (unless you count this brief appearance on the HuffPost Live online channel) so there were a few nerves and I need to work a bit on the intonation, but that aside it didn’t go too disastrously and I would definitely like to do more broadcast journalism in the future.

I happened to be in Mexico City at the time and while I was there I witnessed some of the pain, suffering and rage that people have been experiencing all across Mexico in the wake of this atrocity.

A banner proclaims “it was the state” that was responsible for the disappearance of the 43 students.

The Angel de Independencia, one of the capital’s most famous landmarks, on the iconic Paseo de la Reforma, was filled with candles, photos of the missing students and messages expressing solidarity with the victims or anger at the government.

Later that night, thousands would march through the city to the main square, where masked protesters (or agent provocateurs) firebombed the entrance of the National Palace.

It’s hard to predict what will happen now. Earlier today a reporter from Portugal’s Expresso newspaper asked me to comment on the situation and I told her that in my five years in Mexico I’ve never experienced an atmosphere of anger and unrest like this.

The only thing that seems clear is that people are not going to let this be forgotten and are determined to do something to fight the rampant corruption that facilitates tragedies like this.

“I don’t know you but we need each other in order to create a new world,” reads this sign.