In Mexico, some 20,000 people marched last weekend in opposition to the US-backed drug war and the rising carnage. The march was led by the Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed by the violence earlier this year. Sicilia addressed the crowd of protesters, saying he hopes that the anger fueled by losing loved ones to the drug war should be funneled into peacemaking efforts and not the downward spiral of violence with revenge. Laura Carlsen’s recent piece for The Nation explained how the protesters are demanding an end to the drug war, reforms to the political and justice systems in Mexico and a change in US security policy in the region. In this clip from Democracy Now!, Latin American specialist Molly Molloy says that the death toll in Mexico is likely close to over 40,000 people in just four years.

—Sara Jerving