To The Zapatista Army Of National Liberation (Ezln)To The National Indigenous Congress (Cni)
To The Networks Of Resistance And Rebellion
To The National And International Sixth
To The Signatories Of A Declaration For Life On The Five Continents
To A Rebellious, Dignified, And Unsubmissive Europe
To Human Rights Organizations And Collectives
To The Indigenous Peoples Of Mexico And The World
To The Free And Independent Media
To Critical Academia
To Social Organizations, Collectives, And Civil Society
As we commemorate the seventh anniversary of our resistance and struggles following the events of August 4, 2019, when we were subjected to attacks, harassment, and intimidation in our community of Agua Clara, in the municipality of Salto de Agua, Chiapas—because we are an Indigenous people, human rights defenders, and guardians of life. Today we say no to forgetting, yes to resistance and struggle—we are still here and will continue to be here.
As the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, we publicly denounce the repression against our peoples and communities. The capitalist hydra, with the complicity of the three levels of corrupt government—municipal, state, and federal—continues to dispossess us of our territories.
The events of February 12, 2026, carried out by the State Guard, the Chilón Municipal Police, officials from the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, and the Unitary Agrarian Court against our CNI comrades in the community of Jotolá, Chilón municipality, have resulted in the displacement of eight families and the arrest of two of our members: Francisco Moreno and María de Jesús Sánchez. Their homes were destroyed and their belongings stolen.
Our comrades remain displaced; eight people have arrest warrants issued against them and are facing economic hardship, illness, unemployment, and homelessness. Francisco Moreno remains imprisoned at the Yajalón jail, and María de Jesús is required to sign in with the bad government every Friday.
As the CNI, we denounce the acts being committed by the corrupt governments against our Tseltal brothers and sisters of the CNI who are organizing at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market, Zone 10 Patria Nueva, in the municipality of Ocosingo.
With the complicity of the corrupt governments, 39 co-owners, have been suffering the dispossession of their workplaces, the destruction of their premises, the construction of fences to block access to their workplaces, humiliations, threats, violence against our sisters, the kidnapping of our compañeros—including children—and the fabrication of charges before the Chiapas State Attorney General’s Office—acts that we have publicly denounced.
We tell our fellow compañeros in the struggle that our brothers and sisters at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market continue to defend the Territory and its Autonomy; they are not for sale to big capital, nor are our existence and the Resistance of our Peoples up for negotiation. We demand an end to this legalized dispossession and any other type of counterinsurgency action against our 39 comrades.
We denounce the harassment being suffered by 10 Tseltal families from the community of Agua Clara, in the municipality of Salto de Agua, Chiapas—members of the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas. For the past 10 years, our brothers and sisters have been fighting to defend their territory, their autonomy, and their right to self-determination.
We affirm that with the arrival of megaprojects such as the misnamed Maya Train, the threats to our territory have increased. Now, with the construction of the San Cristóbal-Palenque superhighway, they are destroying our hills, cutting down trees, and this has caused droughts; our rivers have dropped in level; and the harvest road that runs through our plots has caused divisions within the community. We were never informed by the ejido authorities—who claim it is for the benefit of the population—when we know it is to attract tourism.
Our comrades in the CNI are being threatened with dispossession and eviction from the lands they have occupied for years. On June 23, 2026, party supporters threatened that the Pakales Immediate Reaction Forces would enter to evict them from their plots. These repressive actions are carried out with the complicity of the three levels of corrupt governments.
These same acts of land dispossession are happening to our compañeros—members of the National Indigenous Congress—from the community of San Francisco, in the municipality of Teopisca, Chiapas. On March 24 of this year, they were informed by two state government engineers that a highway from San Cristóbal to Teopisca would pass through their territory, for which 60 meters of land were needed. The engineers arrived with their tricks and lies, claiming that the other communities had agreed to the project. We publicly state that our brothers and sisters from many communities do not agree to the construction of this highway.
The farmers of San Francisco know that the highway is for the benefit of business interests. As Indigenous Peoples, we know it will only destroy the land and the trees, bring air pollution, and destroy our culture and peace. As Indigenous Peoples, we say NO to this highway project.
As the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, we observe that the war against Indigenous peoples continues; there is no peace—there is dispossession of our workplaces and dispossession of our territories. The corrupt government uses repression to destroy our organization. Deadly projects continue, such as the San Cristóbal-Palenque superhighway and the San Cristóbal-Teopisca highway. Our comrades remain in prison, and families have been displaced.
Therefore, WE DEMAND:
- A complete end to the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples’ territories.
- An end to the attacks on the autonomy of our brothers and sisters in the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas.
- The immediate release of our compañeros María de Jesús Sánchez and Francisco Moreno.
- Freedom for our comrade Jesús Plácido Galindo.
- The dismissal of the arrest warrants against our compañeras and compañeros.
- That the issue of the forced displacement of our compañeras and compañeros be addressed.
- Immediate and unconditional return of the premises to our compañeros at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market.
- Immediate cessation of threats, harassment, and any attempt to evict the families of the CNI of Agua Clara.
- Respect for our community organization and our right to remain on the land we inhabit.
Our land is not for sale—it is to be loved and defended!!!
Long live the Resistance of the Indigenous Peoples!!!
Truth and Justice—Samir lives!!!
Long live the National Indigenous Congress!!!
Long live the Zapatista Army of National Liberation!!!
Stop the war against the Zapatista communities!!!
National Indigenous Congress, August 20th, 2026.
Original text published at Frayba on August 24th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.