Raising a lone fist came to represent resistance and resilience in a country recovering from the ravages of not just the recent earthquake but one that struck two weeks earlier. On Wednesday, the silent demonstrations around the capital represented a release for some who were still processing the trauma of the quake and the sleepless nights that ensued, when many feared another temblor.

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“I’m here to have closure,” said Claudia Campero, an environmental activist standing outside a collapsed office building where 49 people lost their lives on Álvaro Obregón street in the trendy Roma neighborhood. “It’s part of the process,” she said, fighting back tears. “It will take a long time.”

The two monster earthquakes left nearly 100 dead in southern Oaxaca and Chiapas states early in September, and 369 in Mexico City and the outlying states later in the month.

Mexicans have picked up the pieces, but it hasn’t been easy. A poll after the earthquake by the Ipsos firm found 63 percent of respondents saying they “felt nervous.” Some 50 percent said they “had the feeling or have acted as if an earthquake is occurring again.” At least 38 percent admitted that they had “avoided thinking or speaking about the earthquake.”

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President Enrique Peña Nieto put damage from the earthquakes at 4.8 billion pesos, around $2.5 billion. He optimistically projected reconstruction to finish sometime in 2018 — even though some of the thousands left homeless from the massive 1985 earthquake that leveled Mexico City are still receiving new homes.

Still, the recent earthquakes brought out the best in people in Mexico. Residents rushed to remove rubble from collapsed buildings, brought supplies for those left homeless and volunteered in such numbers that they overwhelmed some sites. Some 38 percent of Mexico City residents volunteered to help victims of the disaster, according to an Ipsos poll released Oct. 21. An additional 76 percent donated goods.

Among those most involved in volunteering and rescuing victims were young people, who seemed especially motivated to defy stereotypes of apathy and indolence. Adding to their enthusiasm to respond: Some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods — such as Roma and another fashionable area, Condesa — had largely younger populations.

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“My generation didn’t experience 1985” — when the earthquake flattened parts of Mexico City — “but we remember the stories. This earthquake gave us the opportunity to do the same” volunteer work that occurred after the earlier temblor, said Viridiana Ríos, a political scientist, who had to move from her Mexico City home because of property damage.

In the aftermath, “there’s anger and a desire to change things,” Ríos said.

Many in Mexico have expressed hope that the earthquake might spur change in the country, especially given that corruption is seen as playing a factor in why some buildings crumbled. Among the cases that have generated outrage was the collapse of a school that reportedly had unauthorized construction on the upper floors, and the revelation that a heliport had been built without the proper permits on a building that had to be condemned. Politicians also allegedly misappropriated relief supplies. The fact that these actions occurred during a building boom added to the outcry.

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“We’re in the hands of politicians more worried about doing real estate deals than providing security for their citizens,” wrote human-rights activist Sergio Aguayo in the newspaper Reforma.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera took the one-month anniversary to announce his intention to seek the presidency, despite poor poll numbers.

It was not clear who came up with the idea for Wednesday's homage, but the idea was spread by social media and embraced by many university students. Demonstrations also occurred in other Mexican cities.

Pedro Ramos, a baker, also participated in the Mexico City homage and sounded hopeful about the future. “People are united. You see something good coming out of this,” he said. But he turned sour as the subject turned to politics, especially next year's presidential race.

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“There are elections and that’s all they can think about, even when the country has fallen,” he said.

Opinions are split on the impact of the anger — if it will actually foment change.