Mothers Keep Up Protest at Cancún Middle School Over Alleged Attack on Student

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Mothers are maintaining a protest outside a middle school in Cancún after a 14-year-old student was allegedly beaten by a classmate just outside the campus, with families accusing school officials of downplaying the attack and failing to protect students.

“What do you mean nothing happened? That you want her dead? That you want her in a coffin?” asked Lucelí Llanes, mother of the alleged victim, outside the school in the Paraíso Maya subdivision.

According to the mother, the attack took place on Tuesday, Oct. 13, as her daughter was leaving the afternoon shift at around 7:40 p.m. The teenager suffered bruises to her head and injuries to an eye, which was left bloodied. The family took her to the General Hospital and later filed a complaint with the State Prosecutor’s Office.

More than a week after the incident, Llanes said she has received no definitive answer. She blamed the school’s principal and assistant principal for the response she said she got when she asked for explanations.

“He told me to do whatever I want — that if I want to file a lawsuit, go ahead and file it,” she said, describing what she attributed to the assistant principal.

Schools across the Yucatan Peninsula have faced growing scrutiny over violence between students. In March, another fight between female students at a Cancún secondary school was caught on video and drew attention after relatives intervened. In September, a video circulated showing a female student grabbing a classmate by the hair and hitting him inside a Cozumel high school.

Alleged aggressor still attending classes

Llanes said the student identified as the aggressor remains enrolled at the school, although she has been moved to the morning shift. Other students allegedly involved also continue to attend, she said, while her daughter is afraid to go back to class.

The mother added that the Quintana Roo Education Department (SEQ) told her the girl would be transferred to another school, but she said the procedure had not been confirmed as of Wednesday, when she went to the campus to demand an answer. She said education staff were reviewing the case.

Police officers were stationed at the site during the protest.

The complaint extends beyond a single episode. Guadalupe Montiel, another mother, said her grandson has also suffered physical assaults and threats within the school community, and that in her view the measures taken so far have not solved the problem.

“Replace the principal and the assistant principal, because they keep putting students at risk,” Montiel said, calling for the cases to be investigated and for steps to prevent victims from being exposed to further danger.

Montiel also recalled a student who died by suicide last year and tied her concerns to violence among classmates, though no official link between the two has been established in the available information.

On Wednesday, Secundaria General No. 41 “Cancún,” which operates the afternoon shift, announced that classes were suspended on instructions from Quintana Roo Educational Services. The notice did not state the reason for the measure.