The Director General of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples, Luis H. Álvarez
During a scheduled trip to Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, the Director General of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (CDI, Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas), Luis H. Álvarez, stated that the state of Oaxaca has the highest percentage of indigenous people in the prison system in the country (26%).
The Director General of the CDI also reiterated the conclusions outlined in an investigative report carried out by a team commissioned by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico in conjunction with the CDI (Informe del Diagnóstico sobre el acceso a la justicia para los indígenas en México. Estudio de caso en Oaxaca [2007]). The report determined that for every 100 indigenous people in Mexico charged with a crime, 82 do not have access to a interpreter.
More information:
More information in Spanish:
Visita de trabajo del titular de la CDI al municipio de Juchitán, Oaxaca (CDI, 04/09/2008)
Oaxaca has some real issues it needs to resolve in regards to its indigenous peoples. Citizen diplomacy is one way to go, but we need to bring the awareness of this situation to a larger audience and get the State to resolve this injustice. Thanks for sharing and helping get the word out.