Words from the Las Abejas de Acteal Organization in Memory of Father Marcelo.
Sisters and brothers:
Let us bring to our hearts and thoughts how we saw the work of Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez during the time he accompanied us in the Las Abejas de Acteal Organization.
When he arrived in Acteal, he began to understand our struggle and our journey. He began to gain courage, his heart grew stronger; he saw in us that we are not afraid to denounce injustice and impunity. He began to speak like us, and his heart grew bigger.
Father Marcelo spoke with great pride that we were his teachers, that it was in Acteal that he found strength and wisdom. When we asked him to write the introduction to our book, The Path of Nonviolence, he wrote what he truly felt when he experienced and touched the suffering, resilience, and hope that exists in the women and men of Las Abejas de Acteal. Here’s an excerpt from the aforementioned text:
‘’So I see the words of the sisters and brothers as a light, and I would like to present them as a FIRE THAT BURNS IN THE HEART, …A FIRE THAT WARMS THE HEART TO BE COURAGEOUS IN THE FIGHT. And if I say this, it’s because here in Acteal, the fire of the Holy Spirit was kindled in my heart.’’
‘’In November 2001, in Acteal, I discovered a call from God, through what happened there, seeing the suffering of the survivors, and seeing the voice they have to demand justice. As a priest, I was very afraid there at the head of Ch’enalvo’; when they rang the bell for Holy Mass, I would quickly go downstairs and hide for a while in my room, waiting to see if the authorities would come. Just ringing the bell scared me. But when I came to Acteal, I heard the words of the women and men with great freedom. They had a very clear voice in the face of injustice, and I said: “The cowardly, fearful Shepherd and the brave sheep in speaking their word.” Something is not right here. There, I discovered God’s call to denounce injustice.’’
Father Marcelo began to deeply understand what it meant to fight for the path of nonviolence. He asked us how it was that catechist Alonzo Vázquez, along with all the women and men, girls and boys, and especially the babies torn from their mothers’ wombs, gave their lives to stop the violence in Ch’enalvo’ and in Chiapas. Then he began to believe that giving one’s life for justice and peace for the people is to be a true human being, to become a daughter and son of the God of Life and Love.
When Father Marcelo fully embraced the building of justice and peace, he understood that living and practicing the Gospel of God is one and the same, demanding justice for the Acteal Massacre, denouncing grave human rights violations, defending life, land, and territory, and defending any injustice experienced by the communities and peoples of Chiapas and Mexico.
On one occasion, he saw that the survivors of Acteal were going through difficult times. He organized a visit to the families and prayed with them, in addition to giving them small crosses as a symbol of the strength and hope of the God of justice and truth.
Father Marcelo became one of us; his heart became an Abeja. He began to openly and fearlessly denounce the Acteal Massacre as a state crime and that the masterminds behind it, such as Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, Emilio Chuayfet, General Enrique Cervantes Aguirre, General Mario Renán Castillo, Julio César Ruiz Ferro, among others, should be investigated and punished. He denounced other state crimes, such as the forced disappearance of the 43 young people from Ayotzinapa.
Since then, corrupt politicians, local, state, and federal governments of all political parties, had their political and economic interests disrupted. They began to grow uncomfortable with Father Marcelo’s truthful words and just and necessary denunciations.
In 2011, news broke that the Diocese of San Cristóbal had decided to transfer him from the parish of Chenalhó to Simojovel, because in the municipality of Chenalhó there were people who didn’t like him because of his way of thinking, similar to those in ancient times when Jesus was not accepted by the powerful. However, in Simojovel he found a much more critical and risky social and political situation, but he wasn’t afraid. He told us: “You taught me not to be afraid, and even if there are death threats, you must always report them, because you can’t silence the truth…”
On one occasion, when threats against Father Marcelo from criminal groups in Chiapas were escalating, we stood in solidarity with him. It was 2021, a few months before the equally cowardly murder of our brother Simón Pedro, a commission from the Las Abejas organization went to visit him in the parish of Simojovel. We brought prayers and some sacred earth and water from Acteal as a sign of strength and hope. Days later, Father Marcelo told us that one of the brothers from the Simojovel Parish Council saw a light emanating from that holy water. Father Marcelo always had faith and believed that Acteal is Sacred Land, watered by the innocent blood of our 45 sisters and brothers, plus the four unborn babies massacred by a paramilitary group from Chenalhó on December 22, 1997.
And we could continue with a long list of the experiences shared with Father Marcelo, but what we will never forget is his heart, which will remain forever in Acteal. Although his body rests here in the parish of San Andrés, his spirit and memory will live forever in Acteal, as well as in the hearts of those who knew him from near and far.
We want to end, but not before remembering that Father Marcelo’s murder remains unpunished because those who administer justice in Chiapas and Mexico have shown no willingness to investigate the true cause of what cost him his life. Let us not forget that Father Marcelo’s murder occurred because he openly denounced the rampant violence in Chiapas. In his final appearance on the pilgrimage held on September 13th, 2024, in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, he denounced it with these words: ‘’Chiapas is being subjected to violence. We do not want to be slaves. We are sons and daughters of God and we are free… We are demonstrating to demand that the government take the issue of peace here in Chiapas seriously, because denying reality is not the way forward. Those who deny reality become accomplices… The president (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) says he has other data, data that suits him, data to legitimize his lies…’’
Faced with the harsh reality and the lies that bad governments always resort to, our conviction is reaffirmed and reinforced that only the people can save themselves, that only by organizing can we defend ourselves from the violence and death imposed on us by criminal groups in collusion with local, state, and federal governments. Regarding violence and impunity, let us sing as Father Marcelo did, singing the hymn, “We Shall Overcome”: …Soon we will overcome, soon we will overcome, together we will fight to the end, I want my country to be happy, with love and freedom. Only with justice will we become masters of peace…
Although the powerful believe they have killed Father Marcelo, in reality they could only kill his body. This was already said by our catechist brother Alonzo Vázquez. They may kill our body, but they will never be able to kill our soul.
The name and memory of Father Marcelo live on more than ever. They have been written in history books, portrayed in documentaries, written with light and turned into images, and have become the lyrics of songs and hymns of peace and justice.
The name and memory of Father Marcelo, no one can erase, no one can change true history; may the name and memory of Father Marcelo be heard in the song of the birds of the Tsotsil mountains. May the defenders of land and territory shout this slogan in their demonstrations, and may the name and memory of Father Marcelo remain eternally engraved in our hearts.
Justice and truth for the murder of Father Marcelo!
Stop the violence in Chiapas!
No more impunity in Chiapas!
Long live Father Marcelo, Martyr of Peace!
Original statement at Desinformémonos, October 20th, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
Photos from Schools for Chiapas.