If there’s something you need to know about me, it’s that I love my country, Mexico. It’s a fascinating country, rich in culture, awe-inspiring people and full of life. Unfortunately, today, my Mexico is writhing in pain.

Every morning when I wake up, I read the news and lately, I feel like I am reading a novel. The government is openly spitting on the population with its games of corruption and abuses of power, like in Juan Rulfo’s “Pedro Paramo” or Isabel Allende’s “The House of the Spirits.”

On Sept. 26, 43 students went missing after a protest rally in Iguala, Guerrero. On Nov. 7, two weeks ago, Murillo Karam, Attorney General of Mexico, announced that an organized crime group known as Guerreros Unidos killed the missing 43 students and disposed of their bodies savagely. The mayor of Iguala allegedly asked Guerreros Unidos to “take care” of the students — they were challenging his wife’s politics. The parents of the students demand proof, as without it, the students are still officially missing.

It was naïve of me to think that the stories in my books are confined to their covers. These writers were inspired by the realities of their context and criticized the situations their people faced. Allende writes about Pinochet’s dictatorship, Juan Gelman focused on the military dictatorship in Argentina. The political strife of the latter half of the 20th-Century in Latin America, which inspired so much of the region’s art, is now resurfacing in Mexico.

The streets of Mexico are ringing with cries of desperation: “I think therefore I am disappeared.” “I am tired [of fear].” “Justice for Ayotzinapa.” Images of my flag, known to  adorn joyous celebrations, parade the streets in protests painted black. The number 43 has been etched in blood on Mexico’s soul. The parents of the forsaken 43 students have taken to the streets, demanding answers alongside thousands of Mexicans and non-Mexicans alike.

The people’s response to the Ayotzinapa case has been remarkable. For the first time in a long time, people are aware, and they are tired. They’re not afraid of crying for change. Mexicans are strong and they have endured a long and complicated history, with many successes and many more failures. The protesters are not just another mob of people blocking the streets and creating traffic. I had never faced this reality so consciously. Even while living in Mexico City through the War on Drugs, I never felt like my country was tearing apart at the seams in the way I feel it is now. Neither had much of the Mexican population. Had I been in Mexico City on November 20 — and I can’t believe I am writing this — I would have walked down to the center of the city with my fellow Mexicans asking, begging for change.

Some have reacted violently by destroying national and personal property. I don’t condone these actions. There is no need to destabilize our very justified stance against the government. Violence gives the government an excuse to silence the voice of the nation. These cases aside, today, I feel proud to be Mexican.I am proud to belong to a nation which is finally standing up against a long history of abuse.

I believe President Enrique Peña Nieto is not to blame. Blaming him is easy. It is easy to fault those who represent the country for what goes wrong. In all honesty, I don’t know what good it does to blame Peña Nieto. What would happen if he were to vacate his position? First, in Mexico, presidents cannot quit. They can become absent and be replaced by the someone appointed by the Executive Cabinet. The Mexican people would not be consulted. We don’t need another pretty face to stand before cameras, acting as a mask for the hidden political forces of the massive political force that is the Mexican Government.

As we learn about the appalling truths of power politics in Mexico, we are overlooking key facts of the issue at hand. The students were leftist. There is clear evidence that it was the mayor of Iguala who orchestrated the disappearance of the students. Also, the mayor of Iguala does not belong to the same party as Peña Nieto. I would venture to say that no high-ranking official in the government knew about this cover-up until the situation exploded.

The country's problem goes beyond the person who sits in the presidential office. It is naïve of us to embody all the ailments of our society in the man who stands before the government to the people.

I don’t want to simply air my nation’s problems in front of the international scene. Everyone has their issues, and Mexico is going through a particularly difficult time. I am writing this as a reflection of the status quo, and as a plea for Mexico to take the right step towards the future we deserve. Mexico’s situation is one of many examples of a government overstepping its power. We cannot allow that to happen. In order to demand change, we need to know where to demand change. We need to know what form of change we need. We need to devise attacks that are directed at the head of the problem, as opposed to attempting to cut off one of the monster’s many tails.

I have egalitarian, wide-reaching, and perhaps overly ambitious desires for my country. I want people to have access to any level of education they wish to attain. I want people to have a voice but, more importantly, to have an informed voice, propagating positive dialogue. I want people to be free to work and act in a way that benefits themselves and others. I don’t want anyone to be denied a visa because they hold a passport from a nation in turmoil. I want an end to organized crime and a beginning to organized understanding. I don’t want anyone to lose a friend, child or spouse because of powerful people bickering and overlooking. I want people to know of political upheavals only through the pages of novels.

Let’s start fighting the monsters in our closets. Let’s start standing up for what is right.