Chiapas: Increase in feminicides and State Accord for Gender Equality

@CIMAC Noticias

Some days ago was found the body of Violeta Margarita Cancino González, a youth of 18 years of age from Nueva Independencia (Ángel Albino Corzo municipality) in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, where she studied.  According to the police and experts, the young female was wrapped in blankets and seemingly preserved in ice before having been thrown to the site where she was located.

According to Martha Figueroa, from the Collective of Women (Colem), from January 2013 to date there have been registered 25 murders of women in the state, with 18 of these having to do with reasons of gender.  She affirms that the number has increased considerably this year.  Figueroa indicated that furthermore, Colem has requested a meeting with the Attorney General Raciel López Salazar to discuss the question, but on three occasions the official has canceled the meeting.

For his part, at the close of the signing of the state Accord for Gender Equality, López Salazar indicated that from January to date there have been registered around 20 homicides of women, and that six people have been arrested for these crimes.  He assured that the cases have nothing to do with drug-trafficking or serial murders, but he also refused to classify them as feminicides, though he did concede that 60% of the crimes had had to do with “emotional conflicts and jealousy.”According to the Law for Access to a Life Free of Violence for Women in the state of Chiapas, feminicide occurs whenever there exists or there has existed between the perpetrator and the victim a relation of familiarity due to blood-relations or sexual relations.  It is feminicide also when the victims presents signs of sexual violence of any sort, and when injuries or mutilations can be seen on the body, whether these be imposed before or after murder.

For more information (in Spanish):

Hallan a joven estudiante muerta en Chiapas; suman 20 feminicidios en el año (Proceso, 16 de abril de 2013)

El 60% de feminicidios en Chiapas, por ‘desencuentros’ entre parejas: procurador (Proceso, 17 de abril)

Por “celos”, mayoría de asesinatos de mujeres en Chiapas/Cimacnoticias  (CIMAC Noticias, 18 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Colem Group of Women take action against feminicide (19 October 2012)

Chiapas: Press-conference by Group of Women COLEM denounces violence against women (9 February 2012)

Chiapas: social organizations present report regarding situation of women in Chiapas (16 August 2012)

National: Amnesty International publishes report on violence against women in Mexico (20 July 2012)

Chiapas: Justice is demanded in the case of the feminicide of the youth Itzel Yanet Méndez Pérez (16 May 2012)

Chiapas: death-threats directed against lawyer who presented demands against the cabinet of former governor Juan Sabines

The lawyer Horacio Culebro Borrayas, who on 3 April opened a legal demand before the PGR against former governor Juan Sabines Guerrero (2006-2012) and 50 members of his cabinet, denounced that he had been the victim of anonymous phone-calls threatening him with death.  He called for a citizens’ mobilization on 12 April, toward the end of demanding the application of justice to Sabines Guerrero, and to all those implied in what he calls the “robbery of the century,” with its seizures of assets.

Culebro Borrayas has submitted before the Special Prosecutorial Office of the Federal Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City a complaint involving at least 20 crimes, including delinquent association, organized crime, illicit enrichment, torture and kidnapping, crimes against dignity of persons, and procedural fraud.  Public servants and their coalitions are among those accused.

Culebro Borrayas says that “Sabines Guerrero, his former collaborators, and former local deputies must explain what happened, and why there is no money, when there is this crisis, poverty, and marginalization.  Someone must say where these state resources are, and they must be returned; the people must not remain silent, but must rather demand justice.  It is said that public and private debt is on the order of 40 billion pesos.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Insisten en que PGR investigue a Juan Sabines (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 11 de abril de 2013)

Amenazan de muerte a abogado que denunció a Sabines (Proceso, 8 de abril de 2013)

PGR acepta querella contra ex gobernador Juan Sabines (El Universal, 7 de abril de 2013)

Demandarán a ex gabinete de Juan Sabines (Milenio, 31 de marzo de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Youth criticizes governor for indebting Chiapas in Comitán ceremony (15 October 2012)

http://sipazen.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/chiapas-youth-criticizes-governor-for-indebting-chiapas-in-comitan-ceremony/

National: Commemoration of two years of the MPJD

On 28 March, two years after the murder of the son of the poet Javier Sicilia, which gave rise to the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), there was held a series of actions to commemorate this date in Cuernavaca (Morelos), Mexico City, Chiapas, and even Tokyo, Japan.At the Mexico City event, Javier Sicilia declared that two years after the MPJD’s beginnings, there persists “a suffering that does not see any sort of justice or peace,” although he also indicated that “all commemorative dates are also times during which we stop to think, would it not be worth it to simply leave our pain inside [...]?”  He indicated in this sense that there have been advances in three respects: the visibilization of victims, the State’s taking acceptance of responsibility, and the creation of the General Law on Victims.Regarding the future of the MPJD, Sicilia identified three aspects.  With regard to the Law on Victims, he said that the MPJD would maintain “an absolute vigilance for the real application of the General Law of Victims throughout the country [...].  The only reasons that we see as serving as obstacles for this are bad faith, disparagement, ignorance, and solidarity with organized crime.”

Sicilia also demanded that the Estela de Luz, where the event was held, be transformed “not only into a center of documentation of the memory of all victims in the country, but rather a cultural center for peace.”  It should be mentioned that until 8 May, there will be carried out a campaign to collect signatures at www.change.org/esteladepaz toward this end.

Finally, Sicilia announced that the MPJD would continue to collaborate with U.S. organizations that participated in the Caravan for Peace (August-September 2012), given that “there will be no peace as long as on the other side of the border, there is no regulation of the consumption of drugs or of control of the weapons of extermination.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Presenta oficialmente Movimiento por la Paz exigencia de resignificar Estela de Luz (La Jornada, 2 de abril de 2013)

La situación de las víctimas, peor (Proceso, 1ero de abril de 2013)

‘‘El Estado, aún omiso ante miles de crímenes’’(La Jornada, 29 de marzo de 2013)

“Sobre el misterio del dolor que trae esperanza y la vida que nace de la muerte”: Reflexiones en el II Aniversario del Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad (Iglesias por la Paz, 29 de marzo de 2013)

Palabras de Javier Sicilia en la conmemoración de los dos años del MPJD (MPJD, 28 de marzo de 2013)

La Voz del Amate y Solidarios de la Voz del Amate saludan al MPJD (28 de marzo de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Mexico: EPN dismisses Calderón’s motion against the General Law on Victims (7 December 2012)

National: MPJD criticizes presidential “veto” of Law on Victims (10 July 2012)

National: Approval of Law for the Protection of Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists (16 May 2012)

 

National: Mobilizations at the national level against high-electricity prices

On 7 February there were carried out protests and blockades in the capital and in several states of Mexico to protest high-electricity prices.  The mobilization had been organized by the National Network of Civil Resistance against High-Electricity Prices, the National Alliance of Electricity Users (ANUEE), and the Mexican Union of Electricians (SME).  The marches and actions were held in Chiapas, Campeche, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Chihuahua, and Mexico City.  The principal demand of these protests was a change in energy policy that would include just prices, access to electricity as a human right, and the generation of sustainable energy from the people.  Furthermore, there was demanded the cancellation of wind-energy, mining, and hydroelectrical projects, as well as end to the criminalization of social protest.

It should be mentioned that during these protests in Chiapas, Nataniel Hernandez, director of the Digna Ochoa Center for Human Rights, was arrested while he was in a meeting with the regional sub-delegate for the government.  He was released during the evening, without any sort of explanation regarding the grounds for his arrest.

For more information (in Spanish):

La Jornada: Tarifas justas de luz y fin a la presión, exigen miles en marcha (08/02/2013)

La Jornada: O comemos o pagamos, grito en jornada nacional contra altos cobros (08/02/2013)

La Jornada: Padecen usuarios de la CFE indefensión y maltrato al quejarse por altos cobros (08/02/2013)

Proceso: Policías retienen siete horas al director del centro Digna Ochoa en Chiapas (07/02/2013)

Proceso: Protestan en Oaxaca por altas tarifas de luz (07/02/2013)

Koman Ilel: PRIMER REPORTE MOVILIZACIÓN NACIONAL CONTRA ABUSOS DE CFE (07/02/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Mexico: National day of protests against high electricity prices (4 April 2012)

Chiapas: PUDEE denounces harassment and electricity cut-off by CFE (24 March 2012)

Chiapas: PUDEE denounces harassment by the CFE (25 February 2011)

Campeche: Arrest of activist campaigning against high electricity prices (26 May 2010)

Mexico: AI Declares Activists against High Electricity Tariffs Prisoners of Conscience (10 March 2010)

 

Oaxaca: Detención y liberación posterior de la defensora Bettina Cruz Velázquez (23/02/2012)

Chiapas: Manifestaciones contra las altas tarifas de la luz (13/09/2011)

National: Female human-rights defenders organize to protect themselves

On 25 and 26 January in Mexico City, female members of the National Network of Female Human-Rights Defenders in Mexico met to analyze the impact of the present socio-political context on their work in defense of indigenous peoples, natural resources, victims of feminicide, sexual and reproductive health, and freedom of expression.  The activists, hailing from states such as Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Baja California, Chiapas, Guerrero, Coahuila, Durango, Oaxaca, and Puebla, presented a protocol of attention to respond to the imminent situations of danger they face.  During two work-days, the defenders joined together their knowledge within the context of violence and concluded that the simply act of supporting a cause makes them vulnerable.  With the creation of a protocol of protection, they now have the basic tools to collect information, establish contacts, and locate emergency services.

For more information (in Spanish):

Defensoras de DH se organizan para protegerse a sí mismas (CIMAC Noticias, 28 de enero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: First state in attacks on female defenders, denounce organizations (21 December 2012)

National: MPJD criticizes presidential “veto” of Law on Victims (10 July 2012)

National: Approval of Law for the Protection of Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists (16 May 2012)

Oaxaca: Harassment and robbery of offices of Consorcio (14 November 2011)

Oaxaca: new intimidation directed at Alba Cruz (18 January 2011)

Oaxaca: attack on union leader Marcelino Coache (20 May 2010)

Chiapas: Displacement of campesinos who were protesting a wind-energy park in Arriaga

On 21 January, a group of campesinos who had since 14 January been occupying the El Brillante field (Arriaga municipality) were displaced by police after having demanded “just compensation” for the use of their lands by the Arriaga Wind-Energy firm, which in mid-2012 built a wind-energy park on this land.  According to journalistic information, 20 campesinos and small property-owners had blockaded access to the wind-energy park supposedly to protest the lack of payment, violation of contract, and environmental damage for which the firm is responsible, being part of the Salinas Group, a subsidiary of TV Azteca, which is owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego.  Beyond this, the State Attorney General’s Office (PGJE) of Chiapas reported that it is demanding penal action against César Octavio Blanco García and Dagoberto Castellanos Cruz, with the former already having been incarcerated; these have been indicated as being the leaders of the protestors.

For more information (in Spanish):

Proceso: Desalojan a campesinos que ‘tomaron’ parque eólico en Chiapas (22/01/2013)

Milenio: Cierra parque eólico en Chiapas por incumplimiento de contrato (18/01/2013)

Diario de Yucatán: Piden campesinos pagos justos a operadora de parque eólico en Chiapas (22/01/2013)

La Jornada: En operativo policial restituyen parque eólico al grupo Salinas (24/01/2013)

Cuarto Poder: Recuperan predio del Parque Eólico (23/01/2013)

Chiapas: Executive Secretary of the CEDH presents penal denunciation against councilors

On 17 January, Diego Cadenas Gordillo, the executive secretary of the State Council on Human Rights (CEDH) in Chiapas, presented a penal denunciation against three councilors of the same institution (Florencio Madariaga Granados, Marina Patricia Jiménez Ramírez, and Lorenzo López Méndez) for the “illegal exercise of public office.”  In the demand, according to media sources, Cadenas Gordillo indicates that the councilors have violated the State Constitution of Chiapas.  The CEDH law establishes that councilors must have been born in Chiapas, which is not the case for Madariaga Granados.  In the demand, Cadenas Gordillo claims that the Jiménez Ramírez and López Méndez councilors “illegally” designated Madariaga Granados as president of the council during an extraordinary session in July 2012.  Councilors Pedro Raúl López Hernández and Rafael Navas Pérez were not present during this act, because they were not called upon “as the law would demand.”  Moreover, according to Cadenas Gordillo, Madariaga Granadaos has violated the labor rights of CEDH workers by removing personnel without reason, according to journalists.  Furthermore, on 18 January Cadenas Gordillo presented a petition before the State Congress for a political trial against Florencio Madariaga due to his not having been born in Chiapas.

For more information (in Spanish):

La Jornada: Chiapas: impugnan designación del ombudsman estatal y dos consejeros (18/01/2013)

Cuarto Poder: Demanda penal a Madariaga (17/01/2013)

Proceso: Presentan demanda de juicio político en contra de ombudsman del Chiapas (18/01/2013)

El Universal: Presentan demanda contra ombudsman de Chiapas (17/01/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Threats to the Executive Secretary of the CEDH (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Believing People call for invitation to join the Grand Pilgrimage – 25 January

Samuel Ruíz García Photo @CGT Chiapas

The Believing People of the diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, have organized a Grand Pilgrimage to be held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas on Friday 25 January starting at 9am.  “We engage in this pilgrimage to mark the second anniversary of the death of jTatic Samuel Ruíz García and the 15th anniversary of the Acteal massacre.  We demand the liberation of our brother Alberto Patishtan Gómez, who has been unjustly imprisoned for 12 years.”  The points of meeting will be the gasoline station on the intersection between the San Felipe Ecatepec highway and la Caseta de San Pablo, exiting toward Comitán.  The eucharistic celebration will begin at 12pm in the Peace Plaza, as presided over by Bishop Felipe Arizmendi.

For more information (in English):

Noticia: Invitación de PUEBLO CREYENTE DE LA DIÓCESIS DE SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS (www.frayba.org.mx)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Pilgrimage of the Believing People in San Cristóbal de Las Casas (27 November 2011)

Chiapas: pilgrimage against “death projects” (3 December 2010)

Chiapas: Displaced indigenous persons march in Chiapas, demanding a return to their communities

Since 22 January, close to 150 indigenous persons who have been displaced for more than two months in Teopisca due to agrarian conflict began a march toward the capital of Tuxtla Gutiérrez to demand that state authorities guarantee their return to their communities of origin.  Another 250 displaced persons who did not join the march continue residing in Teopisca.  Those manifesting themselves noted at the start of the march that “We demand a solution with peace and justice in our lands and the return to our homes, given that we are displaced from the group San José Las Palmas de las Comunidades de Tzajalha, Balhuits, and Yaxlumilja, Teopisca municipality (…) With this march, we make visible our indignation regarding the numerous acts that have violated our human rights.  Furthermore, we want a humane solution to this, without increasing violence or bringing about future confrontations.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Indígenas desplazados marchan en Chiapas; piden retornar a sus comunidades (La Jornada, 23 de enero de 2013)

Continúa marcha de los desplazados; piden retorno (Cuarto Poder, 24 de enero de 2013)

Inician marcha desplazados de Teposica, Chiapas para exigir al Estado las condiciones de seguridad necesarias para regresar a sus hogares (comunicado de prensa, 22 de enero de 2013)

Chiapas: New communique from Las Abejas de Acteal

In observance of the monthly commemoration of the Acteal massacre (December 1997), the Las Abejas Civil Society released a communique challenging the National Crusade against Hunger which was launched in Las Margaritas, Chiapas, the previous day as being nothing more than a “pretty painting.”  The organization denounced as well that “the only thing” that President Enrique Peña Nieto has done “with regard to hunger is to increase the number of hungry persons.”  They explained that “s/he who lives from the welfare of the State is a slave.  We are clear that their projects will not benefit us: they merely change the laws so that indigenous peoples remain ignorant.”

Another of the points they locate as being part of this “pretty picture” is the new interest that has been expressed by authorities with regard to the San Andrés accords regarding indigenous rights and culture.  Las Abejas affirm that “the PRI not is very new; as we know, the paramilitaries who came to kill our brothers in Acteal belonged to the PRI.  Regarding the Green Party that won in Chiapas, we know that it is nothing more than the same PRI merely colored with green.  And they say that they will respect indigenous rights.  Really, does this apply to Emilio Chuayffet who jointly with Ernesto Zedillo is the intellectual author of the Acteal massacre?”

They also directed three questions to Manuel Velasco Coello, the new governor of Chiapas, regarding the question of the Special Prosecutorial Office that will investigate the case of the Acteal massacre:

1) “For what reason was this Office created, if not to punish?

2) Why was neither the public in general nor Las Abejas notified of the results of its investigations?

3) Taking into account the results of the report “which we could read in the webpage of the American lawyers”: “If these were the conclusions, then why did they decide not to exercise punishment against those responsible?”

Las Abejas added that the day that the state government contests said questions, “we can then begin to believe that they intend to respect indigenous rights.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado integro (Sociedad Civil Las Abejas, 22 de enero del 2013)

Las Abejas: “¿Acaso creen los gobiernos que somos tontos y que no tenemos memoria?” (La Jornada, 22 de enero de 2013)

Grupo indígena chiapaneco, Las Abejas, rechaza la Cruzada Nacional contra el Hambre de EPN (Sin Embargo, 22 de enero de 2013)

Sólo buscan dar limosnas: Las Abejas (La Jornada, 23 de enero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Anniversary of the Acteal massacre (27 December 2012)

Chiapas: Commemoration of 20th anniversary of Las Abejas and coming 15th anniversary of the Acteal massacre (21 December 2012)

Chiapas: Survivor of Acteal massacre dies (16 November 2012)

Chiapas: the Las Abejas Civil Society denounces reactivation of paramilitaries in its community (12 October 2012)

National-International: Zedillo obtains immunity for the Acteal case(19 September 2012)