The collective Madres en Resistencia de Chiapas (Mothers in Resistance of Chiapas) demands that the government and the Attorney General’s Office (FGE) of Chiapas take real action to search for missing persons and comply with the agreements reached at each working table since December 2024.
After taking office as governor, Eduardo Ramírez committed to keeping “open doors” to the causes of forced disappearances and femicides of the group made up of families from different municipalities in the Chiapas territory.
“Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca himself had promised to attend every meeting, but he was only present at two. After that, it was all just a sham. They tried to deceive us with a token gesture, simulating searches. We search where they want us to search, not where we propose,” added the members of Madres en Resistencia in an interview with Avispa Mídia.
On August 4, the Madres en Resistencia collective, made up of 14 families of victims of forced disappearance and two of femicide, began a strike at the entrance to the Government Palace in Tuxtla Gutiérrez to demand direct dialogue with Eduardo Ramírez.
They carried out several actions for almost a week, remaining outdoors in the rain and high temperatures, which affected the health of the older members, one of whom had to be hospitalized in an emergency.
“We are tired of having intermediaries,” the collective reports that government representatives attended the demonstration and attempted to fracture the struggle, in addition to revictimizing and discriminating against the families. During one of the activities, in which they chained themselves together and blocked the city’s main avenue, a white government van attempted to speed down the road. “We saw this as a premeditated act of intimidation.”
On August 8, they decided to end the protest after securing a meeting with Eduardo Ramírez. The date was set for before the end of the month.
“We continue to demand other lines of investigation.”
In eight months, there has been no progress in the investigation files of 16 cases. The women, who make up the majority of the group, believe that institutional actions only work “for the photo.”
Despite the commitment, including that of the State Commission for Search and Civil Protection, coordination between the Prosecutor’s Office and the security forces is necessary, they explain, “but the meetings only result in five hours of negotiations without any progress or results,” they detail.
Field searches, which should be safe and supported by the authorities, are carried out without real support. They report that members of the Pakal Immediate Response Force (FRIP) and the National Guard occasionally attend but do not provide security. There are activities that only representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office attend, but they distance themselves, leave them adrift, and put their lives at risk.
On August 8, they decided to end the protest after securing a meeting with Eduardo Ramírez. The date was set for before the end of the month.
In the case of brothers Luis and Marvin Nanga Pérez, the prosecutor’s office authorized a search of at least 64 hectares of land near the town of Galecio Narcía, in the municipality of Chiapa de Corzo. “They show off drones, all-terrain vehicles, ATVs, and all that stuff to fight crime. It was time to take everything, but in that search, they didn’t take anything, they didn’t even bring picks, and they didn’t allow us to search inside the house,” they point out.
For Madres en Resistencia, the obstruction and violence are institutional, as in several of the collective’s cases, despite formal requests, local councils deny access to surveillance cameras and argue that they are out of service, “no progress can be made,” they say.
The collective is concerned that Eduardo Ramírez and Llaven Abarca do not consider it a priority to address crimes that occurred during another six-year term. “They are opening women’s offices that they call safe spaces, but how? We are women and we do not have access to justice or safe spaces,” they question.
“The laws work for criminals, not for victims. They want safe spaces for women, children, and adolescents, but we have missing adolescents and they don’t support us,” say the searchers.
The mothers, sisters, and daughters who are searching have many questions that no one is willing to answer. “We live in a state of psychosis. We don’t know if they are alive or dead, if they are okay, if they have eaten, or where they are, what they are doing. Here, the silence and the disappearances continue. Here, everything remains the same,” they lament.
In May, the State Congress established the Special Commission to Investigate, Propose, and Follow Up on Actions to Search for Missing Persons in Chiapas, but families believe the process has stalled.
The commission was formed following reforms to the Law on Missing Persons in Chiapas, which, among other issues, stipulates that the State Search Commission and the authorities that make up the State System shall issue an Amber Alert without delay. This is a mechanism for the immediate search and location of missing children and adolescents, with the aim of protecting their integrity and preventing serious harm in accordance with the National Amber Protocol Mexico.
“We want the Citizen Council to be formed so that we can take up our cases as relatives of missing persons and victims of femicide.” This group would be made up of families of victims of disappearance, specialists, and civil organizations to ensure citizen participation in the process. Its function would be to ensure transparency in the work of the authorities and to monitor that the established protocols are effectively complied with.
For the occasion of International Day of the Disappeared, the Madres en Resistencia collective is calling on the families of victims of disappearance in Chiapas to march on August 30 at 4 p.m. They will depart from La Pochota and head to the Government Palace in the capital city.
Original post by Jeny Pascacio published by Avispa Midia on August 20th, 2025.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.