About 10,000 people from different backgrounds ethnic groups of the Mexican state of Chiapashuman rights defenders, retired teachers, transporters and the Catholic Church of the state, marched this Friday (09.13.2024) to demand the Government of Mexico to put a stop to drug trafficking violence which has been increasing in recent months in the region.
“Chiapas is a time bomb, there are many missing people, many kidnapped people, there are many disappearances, many murders due to the presence of organized crime in Chiapas“said the parish priest of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Marcelo Pérez, at the start of the pilgrimage march.
The religious pointed out that in recent times “Violence has tripled” especially in the municipalities of Ocosingo, Chicomuselo and Frontera Comalapa, the last two practically on the border with Guatemala, but, he specified that for three years there has been an imminent risk in the towns: La Grandeza, Bella Vista, Siltepec, El Porvenir and Motozintla.
As well as in Bejucal de Ocampo, Honduras de la Sierra, Mazapa de Madero, Amatenango de la Frontera, La Concordia, Montecristo de Guerrero, Angel Albino Corzo and San Cristobal de Las Casas, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Reforma, Tila, Pantelo, Chenalho, since in these municipalities “there is mass subjugation, kidnappings, murders, recruitment of infantry and forced displacement.”
The contingent consisted of indigenous Mayan Tzotziles, Tzeltales, Tojolabales, Choles and Zoquesas well as the civil organization ‘El Pueblo Creyente’ and the Baptist Church, who gathered at the Central de Abastos in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and ended with a prayer, under a relentless sun and a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.
Clashes between drug traffickers
“We know that it is a reality, up there (in the Sierra de Chiapas) People do not make themselves heard because they are subjugated,” said Dulce Ríos, a resident of Tapachula, who highlighted the participation of women in the demonstration.
Anahí Ríos spoke on behalf of the youth, reflecting that this action is for “those who have no voice, it is our task to be the voice of those who are currently refugees, displaced, hidden, subjected to a situation.”
The protesters They also called for a halt to the Mexican government’s megaprojectsforced displacement, land dispossession, and rights violations.
At the end of the march, a group of Catholics celebrated a mass in memory of all the people who have died without justice and prayed for “that the Mexican government recognizes this situation of terror that is being experienced in Chiapas.”
The demonstration takes place after armed clashes between hitmen from the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) have intensified in recent months, using the civilian population as a human barrier to prevent the advance of rival groups.
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