Families Search for Justice for Loved Ones Killed in Collapsed Buildings in Mexico City Earthquake
Fernando SÃ¡nchez
In 1985  when  Fernando SÃ¡nchez  was 18 years old   he  dug through rubble in search of life at the site of a collapsed factory in the center of Mexico City. An unknown number of garment workers  mostly women  lost their lives in that factory following the 8.0 magnitude earthquake  and  SÃ¡nchez  was among the rescue crew that tried to save them.
Thirty-two years and approximately six hours later  a 7.1 earthquake shook Mexicoâs core again  and  SÃ¡nchez  found  himself  at the site of another collapsed garment factory  a few blocks away from the building that fell in 1985. This time   he  arrived as a desperate family member  searching for  his  70-year-old mother  Maria Teresa Lira Infante  and  his  sister  Maria Elena SÃ¡nchez Lira  aged 55  who labored in a dress-beading workshop inside.
âFrom a distance  [I] saw that a building had collapsed and prayed to all the forces in the universe that it wasnât theirs â  SÃ¡nchez  told The Intercept. âAs I got closer  I saw that it was their building and just hoped that they had gotten out in time.â
The four-story building at 168 Bolivar St. on the corner of Chimalpopoca â which became known in the news and on social media just as Chimalpopoca â had converted within seconds into a pile of concrete rubble. Neighbors and volunteers arrived on the scene  hoping to rescue those trapped within  but they lacked basic tools. At first   SÃ¡nchez  was immobilized by his concern for his family  but talking with other relatives  he snapped to. He couldnât dig into the concrete due to a previous injury  so he started mobilizing help via social networks  publishing lists of items that the volunteers needed â flood lights  cranes  power cutters â long before official rescue workers arrived on the site.
The day went on  and  SÃ¡nchez  still had no news of  his  mother and sister. Close to midnight  another of  his  sisters showed  him  blurry cellphone photos of bodies in a local morgue. Police had refused to let  his  sister inside  but offered to take photos of the bodies that had come in. She didnât recognize any of them  but  SÃ¡nchez  did.  He  lived with  his  mother  and that morning   he  had helped fasten her watch on her wrist before she took the subway to work â and  he  saw the watch in the photos from the morgue. When  he  went to claim the body   he  wiped the dust that covered  his  motherâs face  closed her eyes  and hugged her for the last time.
âMy heart was shredded to pieces â said  SÃ¡nchez . âI never imagined that she would die like this.â
Mexicoâs Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare has confirmed that the Chimalpopoca building contained five different companies  including SEO Young  the textile company where the SÃ¡nchez women worked. SEO Young also runs workshops in a building about a block away  at 185 Isabel La CatÃ³lica.  Fernando SÃ¡nchez  told The Intercept that  his  mother and sister had previously been at the location on Isabel La CatÃ³lica but switched to Chimalpopoca because the company told them the building was not structurally sound.
âThat building is standing  and they switched to one that collapsed â  SÃ¡nchez  said  shaking his head.
âWho authorized them to place that antenna and the electric substation there?â asked  SÃ¡nchez . âI am convinced that they caused the building to collapse.â Various Mexican media outlets have reported that the antenna weighed over 40 tons  based on an estimation given by one of the rescue workers who removed it with a crane.
According to the Mexican government  15 people died in the collapse at Chimalpopoca. Along with SÃ¡nchezâs mother and sister  other employees for SEO Young also died  including a mother and her daughter-in-law and a young woman who had just returned from pregnancy leave.  SÃ¡nchez  says that SEO Young offered $18 000 in total for all the families of the deceased.
âI donât want to put a price on the life of my mother  but that is not a dignified amount â it is actually offensive â said  SÃ¡nchez .  He  refused to accept the money and says  he  will demand just compensation through legal means. Immediately   he  faces the cost of two funerals  about $1 700. The government has promised to reimburse various fees related to the earthquake  but the process had been slow.
 SÃ¡nchez  used to enjoy cooking and hanging out with  his  mom. Now living alone   he  spends all  his  time visiting one government office after another  completing bureaucratic processes and hoping that a government investigation will find those culpable for  his  mother and sisterâs death.
âI now have to reinvent my life from nothing without them â said  SÃ¡nchez . âI just want justice  there is someone responsible for the collapse of that building.â
In 1985  when   [TGT] was 18 years old    [TGT]   dug through rubble in search of life at the site of a collapsed factory in the center of Mexico City. An unknown number of garment workers  mostly women  lost their lives in that factory following the 8.0 magnitude earthquake  and  SÃ¡nchez  was among the rescue crew that tried to save them.
Thirty-two years and approximately six hours later  a 7.1 earthquake shook Mexicoâs core again  and  SÃ¡nchez  found  himself  at the site of another collapsed garment factory  a few blocks away from the building that fell in 1985. This time   he  arrived as a desperate family member  searching for  his  70-year-old mother  Maria Teresa Lira Infante  and  his  sister  Maria Elena SÃ¡nchez Lira  aged 55  who labored in a dress-beading workshop inside.
âFrom a distance  [I] saw that a building had collapsed and prayed to all the forces in the universe that it wasnât theirs â  SÃ¡nchez  told The Intercept. âAs I got closer  I saw that it was their building and just hoped that they had gotten out in time.â
The four-story building at 168 Bolivar St. on the corner of Chimalpopoca â which became known in the news and on social media just as Chimalpopoca â had converted within seconds into a pile of concrete rubble. Neighbors and volunteers arrived on the scene  hoping to rescue those trapped within  but they lacked basic tools. At first   SÃ¡nchez  was immobilized by his concern for his family  but talking with other relatives  he snapped to. He couldnât dig into the concrete due to a previous injury  so he started mobilizing help via social networks  publishing lists of items that the volunteers needed â flood lights  cranes  power cutters â long before official rescue workers arrived on the site.
The day went on  and  SÃ¡nchez  still had no news of  his  mother and sister. Close to midnight  another of  his  sisters showed  him  blurry cellphone photos of bodies in a local morgue. Police had refused to let  his  sister inside  but offered to take photos of the bodies that had come in. She didnât recognize any of them  but  SÃ¡nchez  did.  He  lived with  his  mother  and that morning   he  had helped fasten her watch on her wrist before she took the subway to work â and  he  saw the watch in the photos from the morgue. When  he  went to claim the body   he  wiped the dust that covered  his  motherâs face  closed her eyes  and hugged her for the last time.
âMy heart was shredded to pieces â said   [TGT]  . âI never imagined that she would die like this.â
Mexicoâs Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare has confirmed that the Chimalpopoca building contained five different companies  including SEO Young  the textile company where the SÃ¡nchez women worked. SEO Young also runs workshops in a building about a block away  at 185 Isabel La CatÃ³lica.   [TGT] told The Intercept that   [TGT]   mother and sister had previously been at the location on Isabel La CatÃ³lica but switched to Chimalpopoca because the company told them the building was not structurally sound.
âThat building is standing  and they switched to one that collapsed â   [TGT] said  shaking  [TGT]  head.
âWho authorized them to place that antenna and the electric substation there?â asked   [TGT]  . âI am convinced that they caused the building to collapse.â Various Mexican media outlets have reported that the antenna weighed over 40 tons  based on an estimation given by one of the rescue workers who removed it with a crane.
According to the Mexican government  15 people died in the collapse at Chimalpopoca. Along with SÃ¡nchezâs mother and sister  other employees for SEO Young also died  including a mother and her daughter-in-law and a young woman who had just returned from pregnancy leave.   [TGT] says that SEO Young offered $18 000 in total for all the families of the deceased.
âI donât want to put a price on the life of my mother  but that is not a dignified amount â it is actually offensive â said   [TGT]  .  He  refused to accept the money and says  he  will demand just compensation through legal means. Immediately   he  faces the cost of two funerals  about $1 700. The government has promised to reimburse various fees related to the earthquake  but the process had been slow.
  [TGT] used to enjoy cooking and hanging out with   [TGT]   mom. Now living alone    [TGT]   spends all   [TGT]   time visiting one government office after another  completing bureaucratic processes and hoping that a government investigation will find those culpable for  his  mother and sisterâs death.
âI now have to reinvent my life from nothing without them â said   [TGT]  . âI just want justice  there is someone responsible for the collapse of that building.â