Public disgust with the Mexican government’s handling of the disappearances of 43 student teachers took the form of raucous protests in the beachside resort city of Acapulco, where several cops were injured.  And a new scandal about the President’s home is adding to his woes.

The energy ministers from 15 nations are to arrive in Acapulco on Tuesday for a two-day conference.  But on Monday, the city was in no condition for an international conference. 

Protesters with machetes faced off with cops, injuring 16 officers, and tried to block the main roads to and from the airport.  A day earlier, masked protesters set fire to the wooden doors on the presidential palace, a ceremonial building in the center of the capital.

Mexicans are upset with the never-ending violence from the drug gangs that control most of the country.  In late September, the mayor of Iguala ordered his police to arrest the 43 student teachers – who were in his town protesting corruption – and hand them over to the Guerreros Unidos gang.  Two members of the gang confessed to taking part in killing the students, and burning the bodies on a pyre.  The mayor, police chief, and other Iguala officials have been arrested in the case.

Meanwhile, there’s a fresh scandal brewing over President Enrique Pena Nieto home in an exclusive neighborhoof of Mexico City.  Pena Nieto’s wife purchased a mansion built by a company that later briefly won a lucrative bullet train contract.  Briefly, because Pena-Nieto canceled a US$3.7 billion contract once the news got out.