San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. Eleven thousand 450 brigadistas from different countries have participated during the last 30 years in the Civil Observation Brigades (Bricos) to document human rights violations in Chiapas, organized by the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba).
Rubén Moreno, head of Frayba’s solidarity team and coordinator of the Bricos, explained that since 1995, when the observation camps began to be set up, the teams have been present in one hundred communities in municipalities throughout the state.
In an interview, he affirmed that the human rights situation in the state of Chiapas continues to be very delicate. In all these years impunity has prevailed and to date the paramilitary groups have not been identified, investigated or sanctioned.
Moreno recalled that the Bricos began to operate in 1995, because as a result of the armed uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), with the violence and counterinsurgency in Chiapas, abuses of individual rights increased and it was necessary to have other ears and eyes in various communities to document them.
Moreno recalled that the Bricos began to operate in 1995, because as a result of the armed uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), with the violence and counterinsurgency in Chiapas, abuses of individual guarantees increased and it was necessary to have other ears and eyes in various communities to document them.
He assured that in all these years the presence of local, national and international observation has not ceased, while expressing that we currently have two active camps: in Acteal, municipality of Chenalhó, where 45 Tsotsiles were massacred on December 22, 1997, and in the Agua Clara ejido of Salto de Agua, where there are threats of megaprojects.
Ruben Moreno reported that as part of the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Bricos, Frayba recently launched a small campaign to make visible the historical memory and the work of human rights observation in Chiapas, which will take place from February 28 to April 28.
He indicated that in order to form the brigades, Frayba is coordinating with more than 30 international and local collectives.
Original text by Elio Henríquez published in La Jornada on March 10, 2025.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.