The governor of Guerrero state in southern Mexico has stood down following increasingly violent protests over 43 missing students.  They were last seen being bundled into the back of police vans a month ago, allegedly on the orders of a local mayor and police chief.

58-year old Angel Aguirre by law cannot resign, so he is taking a “leave of absence” during which the state assembly will choose a replacement.  It comes after intense criticism over the disappearances of 43 university students after a clash with police in Iguala.  Several cops and drug gang members have been arrested, and the federal government issued arrest warrants for the mayor and his wife.

“Let it be clear that Angel Aguirre, even though he’s no longer in the job, will be ready to contribute to investigations to clear up the facts,” said Carlos Navarrete, the leader of the PRD to which Aguirre belongs.  The PRD has faced immense pressure from within its own ranks and the broader public to be seen as taking some sort of action in response to the case of the missing 43 students.

More than 100,000 people have been in drug gang violence in Mexico since 2007.  Critics say that President Enrique Pena Nieto’s pro-market economic reforms designed to lure new international investment have come at the expense of security, which is chasing away those investors.