More than 3 thousand people, mostly Tseltal, from different municipalities of the north and the jungle, held a pilgrimage in the Bachajón ejido, Chilón, in the framework of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, to demand “respect for mother earth and the construction of peace”, as well as the suspension of the Palenque-San Cristóbal highway.
The demonstrators expressed their disagreement “with the process for the reactivation of the construction” of the highway, known as the Route of Mayan Cultures, “a project that claims to be ‘for development’, but which since its inception has involved a series of violations of our rights as indigenous peoples.”
In a communiqué they pointed out that “today, international day of the original peoples, we are summoned by the clamor of mother earth, the spirit of wisdom of our indigenous roots, the historic resistance of the Mayan people.”
They added: “Today we are summoned by the spirit of our ancestors, the spirit of life that whispers loudly in our hills, springs, roads and communities. Today we are summoned by the yearning for peace and justice in our towns, a debt that for years we have sought with active hope.”
They added that “on this date we commemorate the legislative advances on the rights of indigenous peoples at the international level”, so “we decided to materialize these rights, speaking out in favor of Mother Earth and expressing our concern about the procedure for the reactivation of the construction of the Palenque-Ocosingo highway, known as the Route of Mayan Cultures, a project that claims to be ‘development’, but that since its promotion has led to a series of violations of our rights as indigenous peoples.”
The pilgrimage, organized by the Jesuit mission located in Bachajón, departed in the morning from the communities of Jalalal and San Martín to the town and ended with a mass in the local church.
“Let us defend with pride and courage our culture, heritage and the junax contantic,” “we will not allow destruction and exploitation to steal our home”, “all together for peace”, “respect for the rights of the native peoples”, “we are in favor of mother earth, rights and truth, and we categorically reject everything that goes against that” and “total rejection of the Palenque-San Cristóbal highway,” they wrote on various placards.
During the demonstration, the marchers reiterated their “disagreement with the two (governmental) agreements to carry out the consultation on the highway: the Guidelines for Public Consultation related to Strategic Projects and the Procedure for Public Consultation of the Palenque-Ocosingo highway project published by the Executive Power of the State of Chiapas.
They added that both “ignore the recent reform to Article 2 of the Constitution and the recommendations of various international organizations and actors such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and the UN Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders”.
They affirmed that “stemming from our right to decide on our own development, to the permanence of our cultural and ancestral heritage, to territory, to health, to equality, to self-determination and autonomy, the Tseltal peoples today peacefully demonstrate and demand respect for our right to self-determination. Our rights are not asked for, they are demanded and exercised. The land is not for sale, it is cared for and defended.”
Original text and photos by Elio Henríquez published in La Jornada on August 9th, 2025.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
Communiqué on the Pilgrimage for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Respect for Mother Earth and the Construction of Peace
“We hear the cry of the earth and the poor,
for it has reached the heart of God”
Pope Leo XIV
Statement for Mother Earth, Indigenous Peoples, for Peace
To the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and the World
To all religious denominations
To organizations defending human and indigenous rights
To National and International Media
To the Three Levels of Government
To Society in General:
Today, on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we are called by the cry of Mother Earth, by the spirit of wisdom from our indigenous roots, by the historical resistance of the Mayan people. Today we are called by the spirit of our ancestors, the spirit of life that whispers with strength through our hills, springs, paths, and communities. Today we are called by the longing for peace and justice in our peoples, a debt we have sought for years with active hope.
We are not at a rally, we are not in a march, we are not in favor of or against the government or any political party, we are not a civil society organization. We are the People of God who journey for the “yes” to life from the spirituality of non-violence. We are an autochthonous church rooted in a Tseltal identity, moved by faith as followers of the spirit of Jesus, seeking to dignify all corners of life.
We began our pilgrimage from Jalalal and San Martín Cruztón, two communities that symbolize the peoples who want to honor, care for, and defend Mother Earth; elders, wise ones, men and women prayed and joined in prayer in the hills and springs, planting a cross as a sign of peace and preparing the path we have traveled in one heart. We harmonized our steps with the territory, and along our way we planted three ceiba trees, the sacred tree of the Mayan peoples, symbol of life, greatness, and connection between heaven and earth, planted as a sign of communion with the common home and as a desire to receive ancestral wisdom. We prayed around the Mayan altar to the rhythm of the conch shell, to ask for respect for the sacredness of our Territory, because every corner of our land, every mountain, every spring, every tree, is sacred. This is not a piece of land to be sold or destroyed to make way for projects that promise apparent benefits; it is our home we are speaking of. We are Indigenous, we are Tseltal; here we are born, here we live, in the territory lies the history of our ancestors, it is our identity, our spirituality, and our unique way of being and existing in the world.
However, despite the dignity we have, on this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples we remember that Indigenous communities are rich because of their territories abundant in biodiversity, yet live impoverished by a system that excludes them. Discrimination against our culture is systematic, as is the threat to our territories, and the crude way in which false progress leaves our homes in hunger. The system expels us, violates our rights, rejects our culture, and strips us of our land. Poverty, dispossession, and cultural discrimination go hand in hand. As Pope Leo said in his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation: “It seems that there is still no awareness that destroying nature does not harm everyone in the same way: trampling on justice and peace mainly affects the poorest, the marginalized, and the excluded.” In this context, the suffering of Indigenous communities is emblematic.
For this reason, today we raise our voice for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the rights of Mother Earth. We are not against progress; we are in favor of caring for the Common Home and Indigenous peoples, and from there we announce and denounce. Therefore, as a church we make the following points:
1) We denounce the irregularities in the reactivation of the “Highway of Cultures”:
a) For the violation of the right to consultation, as it was neither prior nor informed, and for leaving aside the voices of the communities since polling stations were only installed in municipal seats. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published after the State Government held the public consultation, and being paid for by the company interested in construction, it does not reflect the real damage it will cause to the territory.
b) We denounce that, despite the fact that the people were not consulted and without the EISs being evaluated and approved, the Government of the State of Chiapas gave the green light on June 8, 2025.
c) We denounce that dispossession has begun with threats, false promises, as well as the extraction of gravel without the consent of the owners.
d) We demand that the relevant authorities address the two filed injunctions and respond to them according to the law.
2) Enough of the criminalization of human rights defenders:
a) Our brothers, defenders of the territory and builders of autonomy, have been criminalized by the political and judicial system, prosecuted for crimes they did not commit, trials rigged by corrupt judges as in the case of Pedro Cortés and Diego Mendoza, sentenced to 110 years in prison. The system of injustice, death, corruption, and violence is perpetuated in the municipality of Pantelhó, where peace is increasingly distant. We denounce that the arrest of our brothers was arbitrary, as they were never shown an arrest warrant; it was carried out violently; they were forced to sign papers without knowing their contents, and their fundamental right to a Tseltal interpreter was violated. We demand that this case be reviewed and that a trial be guaranteed with all due process rights.
b) Likewise, our five brothers from San Juan Cancuc, sentenced to 25 years for homicide, were declared by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to have been arbitrarily detained: Manuel Sántiz Cruz, Agustín Pérez Domínguez, Martín Pérez Domínguez, Juan Velasco Aguilar, and Agustín Pérez Velasco. We join the UN’s demand for these brothers from San Juan Cancuc: Immediate release, that they be granted compensation and other reparations under international law, that the circumstances of their detention be investigated, and that those responsible for the violation of their rights be held accountable.
c) We also demand an end to defamation and harassment of priests, sisters, deacons, catechists, and other men and women serving the Church and caring for Mother Earth.
3) We demand an end to the murder of human rights defenders:
a) Our brother and pastor, Father Marcelo Pérez, a Tsotsil Indigenous priest, recognized nationally and internationally as a defender of Indigenous Peoples, was murdered on October 20, 2024. The perpetrator was sentenced on August 6 to 20 years in prison—an insult compared to the years of sentence given to Pedro Cortés, Diego Mendoza, and our brothers from San Juan Cancuc.
b) We demand that governments put an end to the criminalization and murder of our brothers and sisters who seek peace and justice for the people.
We call on the community in general to demand climate justice and care for our common home, that we demand—without fear but with respect—our governments and authorities protect the peoples and local communities vulnerable to climate change and threatened by social and ecological conflicts, recognizing their key role in conserving ecosystems and biodiversity.
“We reiterate that the Church, in its prophetic mission, will not cease to raise its voice against ecological and social injustices, remembering that the cry of the Earth is also the cry of the poor” (Laudato si’, 49).
As a church in pilgrimage with the poor and in the peripheries we say:
“Yes to Mother Earth, yes to Indigenous Peoples”
“No to the throwaway economy, No to dispossession”Sincerely,
People of God from the five vicariates of the Mission of Bachajón
Bachajón, Chilón, Chiapas, August 9, 2025