Protest leaders to meet president after mass Mexican marches

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — The organizers of mass marches in which white-clad protesters lit up the streets of Mexico to protest escalating violence were Sunday to hand in their demands to the president.

Towns and cities across the country's 32 states took part in Saturday's "Iluminemos Mexico" or "Let's Illuminate Mexico" protests to show a united front against escalating kidnappings and murders.

Violence has spiked since President Felipe Calderon, who took office at the end of 2006, launched a crackdown on drug trafficking and related attacks, including the deployment of more than 36,000 soldiers across the country.

Some 2,700 people have died so far this year in gangland-style killings -- more than in all of 2007 -- across the country, according to national...