From Victim to Crime Stopper: Civil Society Efforts to Prevent Crime and Violence in Mexico with Maria Elena Morera

Maria Elena Morera de Galindo is a leading social activist in Mexico on issues concerning public security, human rights, rule of law, and democratic participation. She decided to fight against corruption and impunity when in 2001 her husband Pedro Galindo was kidnapped. Maria Elena led the negotiations with the kidnappers of her husband. After 29 days in captivity and being subject to significant abuse, Pedro Galindo was rescued by federal forces. Five of his kidnappers were arrested and sentenced seven years later. From 2003 to 2009 she chaired the social organization México Unido Contra la Delincuencia. During these years she organized the white march of 2004, in which close to one million people, dressed in white and silent, marched for a Mexico without violence. She also sought care for hundreds of kidnap victims. In 2010, she created Ciudadanos por una Causa en Común, AC a non-profit organization, whose action areas are the construction of citizenship and the transformation of institutions. This organization works to link social concerns with appropriate public policies.