Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto, facing the biggest crisis in his two-year-old administration, will announce on Thursday his new strategy for reforming the country's dysfunctional justice system and tackling police brutality and corruption.

The announcement comes after people in towns and cities in Mexico have carried out mostly peaceful anti-government protests for the past two months since 43 students were kidnapped by police and handed over to a local drug gang in the southern state of Guerrero.

The students went missing when police, allegedly ordered by the local Mayor in Iguala, ambushed three buses they were travelling in, and opened fire on the buses, killing six people, injuring 25 and kidnapping 43. Afterwards, police reportedly handed the students over to a local gang, who claim they killed the students. The students were from Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College, one of the last few free colleges created a hundred years ago to train indigenous and poor people to become teachers and to teach in their communities.

Protesters have been dissatisfied with government explanations about the fate of the students, and have demanded that Pena Nieto resign.

The protests in Mexico have galvanized support worldwide with Mexicans living abroad. A national day of action on the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution on November 20 over the missing 43 students saw 300 New Yorkers protest outside the Mexican Consulate in New York and a march in front of the United Nations, as well as solidarity rallies in France, Russia and Thailand. One week before that, there was a protest at New York's Union Square.

READ MORE: 300 New Yorkers protest Mexican Consulate Over Missing Students

President Pena Nieto said the government must take "profound actions that require a collective effort from Congress and society to find the best path."

Gang members have allegedly said they killed the students and buried them in a mass grave. Searches by civilian group and non-government organizations have been turning up mass graves in the area, and there are conflicting reports on the number from four to 10 sites.

The most recently discovered graves were discovered just west of Iguala. Forensic investigation at the gravesites is expected to be conducted by local authorities.

Many protesters blamed corruption within the Mexican state for the disappearance of the students, refusing to believe the gang murdered them. The Drug Wars where local police collude with drug gangs have left tens of thousands of people dead since 2006.

When he took office in December 2012, Pena Nieto vowed to reduce the everyday violence besetting the country.

"He is the first TV-president of Mexico," novelist Juan Villoro wrote in the newspaper Reforma, referring to the telegenic leader married to former soap opera star Angelica Rivera.

"His reforms offered a new national soap opera. But reality has come back to haunt him."

11-Year-Old Girl Starts Petition Calling for Mexican President's Resignation http://t.co/6164GmuTGn mother: "I couldn't cut her wings" — Global Voices (@globalvoices) November 26, 2014



