Approximately 3,000 residents of the community of Nueva Palestina, municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas, marched yesterday to demand the presence of security forces because members of organized crime, who are disputing the territory, are trying to charge small businesses with “derecho de piso” (extortion to continue operating).
Since 2018, Melel Xojobal has recorded 2,144 cases of disappearances in Chiapas as opposed to the 1,476 reported by the State. Of the total cases, 40% have not been located. In 2022 Chiapas was in fourth place for the disappearance of children and adolescents. In the context of International Day of Victims of Forced Disappearance, Junax Ko’tatik, the Committee of United Families of Chiapas, Searching for Our Disappeared Migrants, released the following statement.
Nothing will ever be the same again. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is going to end up becoming Mexico’s second border. It is going to end up like Ciudad Juarez, full of maquiladoras, factories, exploiting cheap labor to benefit large companies, protested Juana Ramirez Villegas, an Ayuuk indigenous woman.
“We know that we are not alone in this journey. How many compañeros and compañeros have come to these lands of ours to share their knowledge, to teach us and for us to teach them, how much they have dedicated their whole lives to share our word, our thinking, to look for ways to support us in this struggle that belongs to all of us,” Manuel shares, the emotion so visible on his young face. “Thanks to this support we can continue to build our schools and clinics, develop materials, have access to medical equipment that allows us to care for our sick…”
The project of the misnamed Mayan Train is advancing by bulldozing jungle, towns and communities, indigenous rights, cultural heritages and archaeological remains of incalculable value, in addition to having felled between 5 and 10 million trees (depending on who is counting) and having caused damage to cenotes, water springs, caves and much more.
In a segment titled, the Dream of Reason, Silvia Ribeiro elaborates on the ruling of the International Tribunal on the Rights of Nature on the so-called Mayan Train.
