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Mass anti-crime rallies in Mexico Mass anti-crime rallies in Mexico
(about 3 hours later)
Marches are being held throughout Mexico to protest against a wave of killings, kidnappings and shootouts sweeping the nation. Hundreds of thousands of people have marched throughout Mexico to protest against a continuing wave of killings and kidnappings in the country.
The rallies are being held in each of Mexico's 32 states, with up to 500,000 people expected in the capital Mexico City alone, organisers say. The rallies were held in all of Mexico's 32 states, with more than 150,000 people gathering at Zocalo square in the capital, Mexico City.
Many protesters say the government is unable to curb the violence. They were mainly dressed in white, and marched in silence, holding candles.
Some 2,700 people have been killed in Mexico this year, most of them victims of drug-related attacks. At least 2,700 people have been killed and 300 kidnapped so far this year, mostly in drugs-related violence.
More people are now kidnapped in Mexico than in Colombia or Iraq, with more than 300 reported attacks so far during 2008. Earlier this week, a dozen headless bodies were found in the Yucatan Peninsula.
The protests are being organised by a number of anti-crime groups, who have urged demonstrators to march in silence with candles or lanterns. The message is: Get to work or we will hold you accountable. We are angry Demonstrator The marches also come a week after President Felipe Calderon announced new measures to deal with the violence.
In Mexico City, demonstrators - many dressed in white - gathered at the Independence Angel monument before before marching to the capital's main plaza, the Zocalo. 'No more impunity'
Many carried national flags - a sign that they want a unified country in the fight against crime, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in the city. Dressed in white, tens of thousands of Mexicans walked in silence along the capital's main boulevard, holding candles and lanterns, to show that they had had enough of the murders and kidnappings plaguing their country.
The message is: Get to work or we will hold you accountable. We are angry Demonstrator
Many carried national flags - a sign that they want a unified country in the fight against crime.
Others carried banners bearing slogans such as "No more impunity" and "No more revoking sentences". Others carried pictures of their children who had been kidnapped.Others carried banners bearing slogans such as "No more impunity" and "No more revoking sentences". Others carried pictures of their children who had been kidnapped.
"The most frustrating thing has been the indolence of many of the authorities, their insensitivity," said the father of Monica Alejandrina Ramirez, who was kidnapped in 2004 and has not been heard of since."The most frustrating thing has been the indolence of many of the authorities, their insensitivity," said the father of Monica Alejandrina Ramirez, who was kidnapped in 2004 and has not been heard of since.
"I have often asked myself, why? Why me? Why my daughter?""I have often asked myself, why? Why me? Why my daughter?"
Emergency plan Once everyone had arrived at Zocalo square and the sun had set, they sang the national anthem, and put out their candles together.
Some 4,000 police officers have been deployed in the capital to provide security during the march.Many protesters blame the government for the high crime rate There were similar co-ordinated scenes in dozens of towns and cities across Mexico as thousands of others staged "Iluminemos Mexico", or "Let's Illuminate Mexico", silent marches.
Many protesters blame the government for what they say is its inability to combat crime. The organisers hoped to emulate a similar march in 2004, when almost half a million people protested against violence, forcing the government to target police corruption and introduce reforms.
Emergency programme
The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Mexico City says the marches are a visible sign of how anxious people continue to be about the violence, and their frustration at the government's inability to reduce it.
Many protesters blame the government for the high crime rate
"The message is: Get to work or we'll hold you accountable," said Eduardo Gallo, whose 25-year-old daughter was kidnapped and murdered in 2000. "We are angry.""The message is: Get to work or we'll hold you accountable," said Eduardo Gallo, whose 25-year-old daughter was kidnapped and murdered in 2000. "We are angry."
Their anger comes despite a series of tough measures unveiled in recent years by President Felipe Calderon, including the deployment of more than 25,000 police and troops around the country to wrest Mexico from drug cartels. Last week the country's political and security leaders drew up an emergency, 74-point plan to try to combat the wave of violence.
Last week the country's political and security leaders launched an emergency programme to try to combat the rising wave of violence. Measures include sacking corrupt police officers, equipping security forces with more powerful weapons, new prisons for kidnappers and strategies to combat money-laundering and drug-trafficking.
Measures include sacking corrupt police officers, two new prisons for kidnappers and strategies to combat money-laundering and drug-trafficking. President Calderon has already deployed more than 25,000 troops across the country to combat the powerful drug cartels.
Our correspondent says the rate of violent crime has led to a sense of crisis, with politicians blaming each other. Washington is also pumping in hundreds of millions of dollars to help.
But the cartels and kidnappers are well organised and often have the acquiescence of corrupt police officers, our correspondent says.
The organisers of this march know restoring a sense of calm and order will need wholesale changes in Mexican society, something one march on one day cannot achieve, he adds.