
In the Shadow of the World Cup: Mexican Families Search for Their Loved Ones
Guadalajara is polishing itself for World Cup crowds, but a short drive from the new stadiums lie mass graves, and Mexico's official count of missing people has passed 100,000. DW's cameras follow three people living with that number. Miguel has spent years searching for his daughter Yessenia, abducted from her home by armed men in 2022, while raising her young son and running out of money to keep looking. Ernesto, her former soccer coach, keeps training local women's and youth teams in neighborhoods where kidnapping is a constant threat, many of his players from families who have lost someone. Héctor, whose son is also missing, now coordinates searches with other parents, digging through fields and replacing missing-person posters as fast as authorities tear them down. The film cuts between the tournament's security messaging and these unofficial investigations happening blocks away, showing a city built to look safe for visitors while residents rely on each other because the state has not delivered answers.