14-year-old Mexican boy set on fire by classmates in racial attack
India Today
A 14-year-old boy in Mexico was set on fire at his school allegedly for speaking an indigenous language.
A Mexican schoolboy was set on fire and badly burned in a classroom — his "only crime" was speaking an indigenous language in a country struggling to end racial discrimination.
Two classmates are accused of pouring alcohol on Juan Zamorano's seat at a high school in the central state of Queretaro in June.
When the 14-year-old realized his trousers were wet and stood up, one of them set Zamorano on fire, according to his family.
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He suffered second and third-degree burns and was only this week discharged from the hospital.
Juan had already suffered weeks of bullying because of his Indigenous Otomi roots, according to his family's lawyers, who filed complaints against the alleged attackers and school authorities.
With an estimated population of 350,000, the Otomi are one of dozens of Indigenous groups in the Latin American country.
