On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people in at least 10 Mexican cities filled the streets to make clear to government authorities that they have had enough.

The epicenter of the protests was Mexico City, where people marched in numbers not seen in more than a decade. A human flood of more than 200,000 people flowed through the capital's main boulevards to its central plaza, the Zocalo, dressed in white. It was supposed to be a silent march, without the chants or speeches that are signatures of Mexican dissent. But some participants could not contain themselves. There were those who chanted "Enough already!" Others shouted for justice in the serial murders of women in Ciudad Ju��rez.

Many carried photos of loved ones lost in street crimes. Thousands waved banners calling for the death penalty.

In a nation divided by gaping economic disparities and scathing political scandals, the marches on Sunday were led by upper-middle-class conservatives, but drew people from all walks of life, religions and party affiliations. Their anger was not based on police statistics, but on experience. Many were victims of crimes. Those who were not knew one.

Among the marchers were relatives of Sebasti��n and Vicente Guti��rrez Moreno, brothers and professionals who were kidnapped commando-style last May and found dead in a trash hauling bin, even after their family delivered $600,000 for their safety. There were relatives of 60-year-old Roberto Cummings Ibarra and his son Guillermo, 27, shot to death two weeks ago by car thieves who panicked while stealing their Volkswagen Beetle.

Few think the marches on Sunday, organized largely through Internet exchanges among crime victims and their families, mark the start of a new civil rights movement. But it is a clear demonstration of broad disappointment in the government.

The march comes near the fourth anniversary of the election of President Vicente Fox, the first opposition politician to rise peacefully to power. His election on July 2, 2000, ended seven decades of authoritarian rule and raised high hopes for the end of official corruption and rampant lawlessness.

But optimism has worn thin. Most of the people taking part in the marches on Sunday said they felt no better off today than they were four years ago. Impunity, they said remains a fact of Mexican life. Police are just as often predators as they are protectors. Government officials acknowledge that an overwhelming majority of crimes go unreported, and the justice system resolves less than 5 percent of reported crime.

Source: Agencies