Chiapas
Against Xenophobia and Racism: The Struggle for Life
Source: Enlace Zapatista
Against Xenophobia and Racism: The Struggle for Life
The Zapatista Sixth Commission
Mexico
September 4, 2021
To Whom It May Concern:
In agreement with the Zapatista Good Government Councils, the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee-General Command of the EZLN, and the Zapatista indigenous communities, we declare the following:
First- In recent days, we have witnessed the Mexican State’s inhumane treatment of the migrants who try to leave the unspoken and invisible trap in which they find themselves in the city of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico.
Second- Similar to previous administrations, in response to public outcry and complaints of these cruelties, the Mexican government promises penalties for the “excesses” committed by agents of the National Institute of Migration (INM in Spanish). This promise is just another lie. They tell their officers that this will be said publicly to avoid the pressure of so-called public opinion, but that officers should continue with their human hunting methods without fear of consequences: no migrant should get past Chiapas.
Third- Even among members of the so-called National Guard there is discontent. They told them that their mission was to fight organized crime and now they have them acting like hunting dogs chasing after dark-skinned people. Those are their instructions: hunt down anyone with dark skin: “Detain any fucking black person you come across” is the order. It’s quite a foreign policy statement.
Fourth- The indoctrination of the National Institute of Migration agents borders on ridiculous. They tell them that they are defending Mexico from an invasion, as an employee of the INM confidently stated. It wouldn’t hurt the National Institute of Migration to take some basic history classes, now that classes are back, to understand that those who invade come from the United States government which imposes this immigration policy that contradicts the entire history of Mexican foreign policy.
Fifth- The maneuvering performed by the INM to contain human rights organizations and the press so that they can’t document their actions reminds us of what the Salinas de Gortari administration did during the first days of 1994 when they closed off entrances to the Lacandón Jungle to prevent anyone from knowing what they were doing. The hunting of migrants reminds us of what the Zedillo administration did in 1995 when it ordered we be pursued with dogs.
(Español) ¡JUSTICIA PARA SIMÓN!
Simón Pedro era padre, esposo, hijo y hermano. En vida fue defensor de derechos humanos, catequista e integrante de La Organización de la Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal.En 2020 fue presidente de la Mesa Directiva de su Organización. El 31 de diciembre de 2020, Simón nos concedió una entrevista para compartirnos qué es La Mesa Directiva de Las Abejas y qué implica ser de La Mesa Directiva. Ese día entregaba el cargo a los nuevos representantes de la Mesa Directiva.
“Simón le fue arrebatada la vida por buscar activamente la paz frente al clima de violencia generalizada que vivimos en los Altos de Chiapas. Nuestro hermano Simón Pedro representa la tercera generación de defensores de los derechos humanos en su familia y siempre participó en los movimientos para defender a la Madre Tierra en contra de los megaproyectos que amenazan a nuestros pueblos, y que han afectado a otros campesinos e indígenas en nuestro país y de otras partes del mundo. También buscó siempre el bien de su pueblo luchando en la organización, viendo por los desplazados y exigiendo justicia para los Mártires de Acteal y para todos los perseguidos por el mal gobierno. Siempre intentó proteger y ver por los que están sufriendo”. Palabras de la Organización de la Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal, 22 de julio de 2021
Por el Área de Comunicación de Las Abejas de Acteal y Xun Sero
Chiapas, México, Julio 2021