Hundreds of Tzotzil indigenous people march today in the municipality of Zinacantan, in the state of Chiapas (Mexico).
The protest occurred amid an increase in violence in the municipalities of Tila, Pantelhó, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Oxchuc, Chamula, Ocosingo, Altamirano, Comitán, Margaritas and Frontera Comalapa, in Chiapas
Hundreds of Tzotzil indigenous people marched last Sunday to make visible the violence that is brewing in Chiapas by armed civilian groups and organized crime groups.
It is a violence that has attacked us in all areas, there are many families and brothers wounded in their situation who now live and who often find themselves unprotected, not supported,” Mauricio Elías, a member of the Order of Preachers organization, told EFE.
The young preacher pointed out that human rights violations committed by organized crime persist in this area, in addition to domestic and workplace violence.
The contingent was made up of Tzotzil Mayan indigenous people, as well as the civil organization El Pueblo Creyente, municipal and traditional authorities who gathered at the entrance of the municipality and marched towards the Plaza de San Lorenzo.
The peaceful march was made up of women, boys, girls, adolescents, older people and men who carried white flags, as well as signs with legends such as: “Let’s respect mother earth”, “If I don’t have love I am nothing”, “For peace”. “, “No to contamination”.
Just on Saturday, the municipality of Tila woke up under siege by hooded and heavily armed men, who spread terror among the population with shots in the air from Friday night until dawn on Saturday.
The situation left several houses and two cars burned.
The protesters asked for a stop to the destruction of the planet, forced displacements, the dispossession of land, and violations of the rights of girls, boys, adolescents, women and men.
At the end of the march, Catholic pilgrims held a mass in memory of all those who have died without justification and prayed “that governments end wars and people achieve dialogue for true peace.”
“In my community, since we adopted other things, other cultures, and violence began, we no longer respect the elders, we are losing our culture,” Fausto Sanchez, a Tzotzil indigenous person, told EFE.
For her part, Ana Cruz, a Tzotzil indigenous person from Zinacantán, said she was afraid of the insecurity and increase in violence “in Chiapas violence has already increased, many are already killing, there are already many criminal groups in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, because of them “We ask for peace in Chiapas and Mexico.”
The indigenous woman asked the Mexican government to pay more attention to indigenous peoples who are also being attacked and beaten by these criminal groups.
The violence in Chiapas reflects the wave of insecurity in Mexico, which in 2022 recorded 30,968 intentional homicides after the most violent years in its history, under the mandate of Andrés López Obrador, with 34,690 murder victims in 2019, 34,554 in 2020 and 33,350 in 2021.
Source: Lopez Doriga
