International/National: Economic Inequality is “Out of Control” – OXFAM Report

@Oxfam

On January 20th, in the framework of the World Economic Forum that will take place in Davos, Switzerland, in the coming days, Oxfam presented its annual report entitled “Time for Care.” The document focuses on the growing global inequality as well as the differentiated impact it has on women.

This report reports that globally, the 22 richest men have more wealth than all women in Africa, while 2,153 millionaires enjoy more wealth than 60% of the global population that, in total numbers, means 4.600 billion individuals. The organization stressed that “billions of dollars are in the hands of a small group of people, mainly men” adding that “economic inequality is out of control.” The global pattern is also reflected in Mexico, where the six richest people in the country have more than half of the Mexican population that represents 62.5 million people living in poverty or extreme poverty.

In addition, “women and girls are the ones who benefit least from the current economic system,” said Amitabh Behar, head of Oxfam in India. According to the report, the current economic system is “imperfect and sexist”, which is reflected in the unpaid work of women. Such work includes the care of children, elderly or disabled people and / or the maintenance of the home, among other tasks. In Mexico, women do an average of four more hours of this type of work, equivalent to 1.7 billion pesos or “almost twice the annual mining production”. “We are saving the State millions of pesos that it would have to invest in social spending to be able to create better security systems,” said Rocío Stevens, director of campaigns and communication at the Mexican headquarters of Oxfam.

The organization demands a National Care System financed by progressive wealth taxes. Forcing the richest 1% of the country to a 0.5% tax on their assets, which could generate approximately 92 million pesos and double the budget of the Institute of Health for Welfare (INSABI). “Not even by investing all the taxes that the Mexican State collects could we reach a satisfactory level (of social expenditure) because Mexico collects about 16 percent of GDP [gross domestic product],” said Diego Vazquez, the agency’s research manager. Therefore, it is also positioned in favor of a tax reform in the country and criticizes that the policies promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are minimal compared to what is necessary. “We are not against austerity in terms of savings, of avoiding waste, of making the activity of the State and of public spending efficient, but fundamentally women who are in the lowest income are more highly dependent on the services of the State. The women who are in the highest ten percent are not the ones who were affected by the closure of the nurseries of the Mexican Social Security Institute,” Stevens concluded.

The report underlines that “our economic system is built by rich and powerful men,” said Paul O’Brien of the Political and Defense Division of Oxfam, who stressed that “the richest are clearly manipulating our economy by themselves, starting with the US billionaire president.”

For more information in Spanish:

Tiempo para el cuidado (Oxfam el 20 de enero de 2020)

Trabajo no remunerado en mujeres, eleva desigualdad en México: Oxfam ( La Jornada el 20 de enero de 2020)

Seis mexicanos, con más riqueza que 50% de la población (La Jornada el 21 de enero de 2020)

Desde Davos, Oxfam alerta por la situación de la mujer (El Universal el 21 de enero de 2020)

Los multimillonarios son más ricos que la mitad del planeta: Oxfam (Tiempo México el 20 de enero de 2020)

Oxfam: Los 22 más ricos tienen lo que todas las mujeres de África. “La desigualdad está fuera de control” (Sin embargo el 20 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

International/National: Rise in World Inequality Crisis – 42 People Have the Same Wealth as 3.7 Billion Poor (Oxfam Report) (February 8, 2018)

Oaxaca/Chiapas/National: Oxfam Presents Inequality Report (April 9, 2016)

Mexico: poverty increases in the country, especially in urban areas. Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero continue to have the great number of poor. Campaign for the ratification of PF PIDESC (December 14, 2011)

National: AMLO – We Won’t Build Dams at El Paso de la Reina, Boca del Cerro or La Parota

Photo @ HydroReview

On January 20th, having been questioned in his morning press conference about a complaint of burglary and harassment in recent days by elements of the Navy against Marco Antonio Suastegui, one of the leaders of the opposition to La Parota dam in Guerrero, the president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rejected that it is among his plans to reactivate the La Parota project.

“No work can be done against the will of the people. La Parota is opposed and that dam is not going to be built. As we are not going to build other dams, I would tell you that we are not going to build the Paso de la Reina dam in Oaxaca and the Boca del Cerro dam in the Usumacinta in Chiapas. The only one that we are going to finish because its expansion has already begun, is that of Chicoasen (…) no new dam will be started, but we will seek to modernize the existing ones. ”

Regarding the issue, the senator of On January 20, after being questioned in his morning conference about a complaint of raid and harassment in recent days by elements of the Navy to Marco Antonio Suastegui, one of the leaders of the opposition to La Parota dam in Guerrero, the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador rejected that it is among his plans to reactivate the La Parota project.

“No work can be done against the will of the people. La Parota is opposed and that dam is not going to be built. As we are not going to build other dams, I would tell you that we are not going to build the Paso de la Reina dam in Oaxaca and the Boca del Cerro dam in the Usumacinta in Chiapas. The only one that we are going to finish because its expansion has already begun, is that of Chicoasén (…) said that no new dam will be started, but it will seek to modernize the existing ones”, the president said.

Regarding the issue, the MORENA senator, Ricardo Monreal, announced on the same day that he decided not to present an initiative to reform the Constitution and the Federal Injunction Law “to prevent the protection of public works that benefit the community” . According to Proceso magazine, “the MORENA member considers that the current federal government has promoted important projects from the beginning, which have been stopped by suspensions granted through injunctions, causing damage to economic and social progress.”

Through his Twitter account, the senator announced that “he had prepared initiatives to reform the Injunction Law, which were reviewed in the past by other means; After talking with groups and specialists, I decided not to present them, to look for a consensus project on the subject. You must listen and accept changes.” 

For more information in Spanish:

Morena en el Senado va por reforma para evitar que amparos frenen proyectos de AMLO (El Proceso, 19 de enero de 2020)

Monreal desiste de sus reformas al amparo para blindar los proyectos de AMLO (Expansión Política, 20 de enero de 2020)

López Obrador descarta retomar proyecto de presa La Parota, en Guerrero (El Proceso, 20 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero: Vocero del CECOP presenta queja contra policías estatales que pretendían detenerlo (December 17, 2019)

Chiapas: “La Voz del Pueblo” informa que el Ayuntamiento de Huehuetán no otorga ningún tipo de autorización a las empresas para la construcción de hidroeléctricas en el municipio (July 16, 2019)

Nacional/Internacional: “Gobierno debe frenar abusos de empresas públicas y privadas”: Grupo Focal de la Sociedad Civil sobre Empresas y DDHH (July 5, 2019)

Guerrero: 16 CRAC PC and CECOP Prisoners Released (June 17, 2019)

Celebrará Dia Internacional de Acción Contra las Presas y a Favor de los Ríos, el Agua y la Vida, Y otras formas de resistencia (March 12, 2019)

Guerrero: 500 Persons Displaced after Confrontations in Zirandaro

@Quedratin Guerrero

After different clashes between criminal groups in the municipality of Zirandaro, about 500 people were displaced. The first displacement occurred after clashes on January 13th when, according to official government data, 143 people, 100 from Guayameo and 43 from Zirandaro, fled the violence.

The Guerrero State Government reported that the services of the Guerrero DIF were made available to grant them food, blankets, mats and other items.

The newspaper El Sol de Acapulco reported that on January 20th, “a new confrontation with bullets in the community of Pandacuareo (…) this wave of violence extended to the communities of El Pino, La Parota, La Calera and San Rafael ( …) Municipality of Zirandaro, increased the number of displaced and forced classes to be suspended in schools of five communities of that mountain area of ​​Tierra Caliente, so as not to endanger the safety of teachers and students.”

According to a recent report by the Jose María Morelos y Pavon Human Rights Center that works with victims of internal forced displacement, some 6,500 people have been forcibly displaced due to violence in the state.

For more information in Spanish:

Confirman 143 desplazados por enfrentamientos en Zirándaro (Eje Central, 18 de enero de 2020)

Unas 143 personas se han desplazado de Zirándaro y Guayameo por violencia (El Economista, 20 de enero de 2020)

Violencia desplaza a habitantes de Zirándaro (El Sol de Acapulco, 22 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero: Organizaciones Civiles denuncian agresión y robo contra defensores del Centro Regional de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos José María Morelos y Pavón (6 de enero de 2020)

Guerrero: Visita SIPAZ a desplazados de Leonardo Bravo y Zitlala (2 de mayo de 2019)

Guerrero: desplazados de la Sierra llegan a un acuerdo con el gobierno y dejan su plantón en la Ciudad de México (29 de marzo de 2019)

Guerrero/Nacional : Siguen llegando más desplazados guerrerenses a plantón instalado frente a Palacio Nacional en la Ciudad de México sin que se vean avances en respuesta a sus demandas (14 de marzo de 2019)

Nacional/Guerrero: Red TDT se pronuncia sobre la situación de desplazados de Guerrero y avances en la política nacional en cuanto a DFI (28 de febrero de 2019)

Chiapas/International: Caravan of 4,000 Reaches Southern Border – Stopped by National Guard

@El Universal

On January 20th, a caravan of approximately 4,000 migrants arrived, mainly from Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras to the southern border of Mexico. The migrants had left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on January 15th.

Arriving at the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge, which connects Ciudad Hidalgo in Chiapas and Tecún Uman in Guatemala, at 4:30 a.m., they announced in a statement that “we are going to ask the Mexican authorities to give us free passage, we just want to arrive to the United States, we don’t want to stay here, let’s go calmly, without violence.”Upon submitting a formal request for free passage to the National Migration Institute (INM) and receiving a negative response a few hours later, they went to the Suchiate River to cross the border illegally. Agents of the National Guard (GN) were already waiting for them on the other side and the migrants were forced to return. However, some managed to break the fence of the elements of the GN with stones, sticks and pushes. In the chaos that ensued, several mothers lost their children and some people suffered nervous breakdowns. “We are desperate from the heat that is affecting us too much and more than anything else for the children,” said one of the migrants, adding that “I ask Lopez Obrador to listen to his conscience.”

Most of the migrants were already arrested at the border itself or shortly after crossing, but a group of approximately 400 people managed to advance about five kilometers to the Ignacio Zaragoza community, where they were held by another military siege. ”The caravan was mostly contained,” said a Federal Police officer. Due to the use of tear gas and force, several minors and adults were injured and intoxicated. Hostal La 72 in Tenosique, Tabasco, “noted numerous search operations by the INM and the army. We take care of people injured by attacks received by stones thrown by the military.” In addition, the Human Rights Observation and Monitoring Collective of Southeast Mexico documented that the authorities do not make clear the necessary immigration procedures. “They deceive us, they are deporting those who agreed to register,” said one of the migrant women.

In the end, many of the migrants from that caravan returned to the shelter in Tucan Uman, where they stayed before attempting to cross the border with Mexico. They again affirmed their determination to reach the United States: “We are not going to give up, we cannot return to Honduras because the Maras kill us.”

For more information in Spanish:

Frenan a migrantes que intentaron cruzar a México por río Suchiate (Milenio el 20 de enero de 2020)

“No nos vamos a rendir”, advierte Caravana Migrante (El Universal el 21 de enero de 2020)

Caravana migrante espera en frontera de Guatemala; intentarán ingreso masivo a México (Aristegui Noticias el 19 de enero de 2020)

Guardia Nacional impide el paso de caravana migrante en frontera con Guatemala (El Economista el 20 de enero de 2020)

Gobierno mexicano disuelve la caravana migrante, detuvo a más de 400 (Chiapas Paralelo el 21 de enero de 2020)

Tensión en la frontera sur por falta de claridad de las autoridades migratorias: ONGs (La Minuta el 20 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Civil Organizations Report on Observation Mission in Tapachula (November 24, 2019)

Chiapas: Migration Authorities Stop Migrant Caravan in Tapachula (October 17, 2019)

Chiapas: African Migrants Clash with National Guard in Tapachula

(October 8, 2019)

International/National: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ends Mexican Visit while African Migrants Protest in Tapachula (October 7, 2019)

Chiapas: Federal Police Attack Migrants and Journalists at Migration Center in Tapachula (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas/National/International: Human Rights Organizations Demand End to Child and Adolescent Migrant Detentions (May 26, 2019)

National/International: CNDH Requests Special Measures for Migrants (May 8, 2019)

Guerrero: Tlachinollan Highlights Need for Coordinated Action to Dismantle Criminal Organizations after Murder of Ten Indigenous in Alcozacan

Photo@ Milenio

On January 17th, after a conflict between the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities-Founding Peoples (CRAC-PF) and the community police who call themselves the Peace and Justice Group, ten Nahua indigenous people from the town of Alcozacan, municipality of Chilapa de Álvarez, in Montaña Baja in Guerrero were murdered. The CRAC-PF blamed the attack on Los Ardillos crime group.

According to La Jornada, David Sanchez Luna, coordinator of the House of Justice in Rincon de Chautla, reported that the ten indigenous people were “members of the group Sensacion Musical that had come to play at a party in the town of Tlayelpa,” and that some of them were members of the CRAC-PF. Other media, among them Animal Politico, reported that according to testimonies of the relatives of the victims “none was a musician (…) all were roadies who were hired to load the instruments, although two were hired as drivers and the youngest was the son of the manager of the musical group.”

Due to these events, the CRAC-PF installed a blockade on the federal highway that goes from the municipality of Chilapa de Alvarez in order to demand that the state government hand over the bodies of the ten indigenous people. In this regard, on January 19th, the State Attorney General’s Office reported that they handed over five of the ten bodies to the relatives. They also asked the federal or state governments “to respond to the request that the National Guard remain within the limits of Chilapa and Jose Joaquín de Herrera.”

Similar demands were made by the CRAC-PF after, according to information from the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center, since December 19th, 2018 the situation in the area around Chilapa became more violent, due to the emergence of community police who call themselves the Peace and Justice Group, in the Nahua community of Paraíso de Tepila, municipality of Chilapa. This resulted in a confrontation between the two groups that resulted in deaths on both sides.

This conflict received more attention at the national level when on May 12th, a group of children from the Rincon de Chautla community, in the municipality of Chilapa, announced their incorporation to the CRAC-PF to defend themselves against Los Ardillos. A week later, women from the Rincon Tapila village, also in Chilapa, reported that they opted to do the same.

The latest reported events were a new complaint from the CRAC-PF in which they announced that on January 20th of this year, Cenobio Morales Bolaños, a member of his organization, was taken at the place known as La Pasadita, municipality of Jose Joaquín of Herrera, bordering with Chilapa.

Despite interventions by the government, Tlachinollan said that “the murder of the ten musicians from Alcozacan, unfortunately is part of this flow of violence that the authorities of the three levels of government have allowed to increase, calling into question their commitment and impartiality for the adequate attention of this conflict (…) what worries most is that the state authorities have not taken strategic decisions to contain this violence.

It considered that the approach of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador “that it is necessary to calm down the country and work on a more comprehensive strategy that addresses the causes of violence, requires interventions at the highest level in order to contain this criminal avalanche. You cannot postpone responses in the medium and long term; it is necessary to implement coordinated actions to dismantle this criminal structure.”

For more information in Spanish:

CRAC-PF bloquea vía en Chilapa; exige los cuerpos de 10 ultimados (La Jornada, 19 de enero de 2020)

Emboscan y matan a 10 de la CRAC-PF de Guerrero (La Jornada, 18 de enero de 2020)

OPINIÓN | La cruda realidad: balazos, no abrazos (Tlachinollan, 20 de enero de 2020)

Los 10 sepelios de Alcozacán, Guerrero: la comunidad que se resiste al crimen (Animal Político, 20 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero: Organizaciones Civiles denuncian agresión y robo contra defensores del Centro Regional de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos José María Morelos y Pavón (6 de enero de 2020)

Guerrero: Two Members of CRAC-PF and CIPOG-EZ Murdered (May 28, 2019)

Guerrero: CNI Denounces Kidnapping and Murder of Two Members (May 11, 2019)

Guerrero: Visita SIPAZ a desplazados de Leonardo Bravo y Zitlala (2 de mayo de 2019)

International/National: UNHCHR Calls on Mexican State to Increase Efforts to Effectively Implement General Law on Forced Disappearance of Persons

Photo @ novedadesaca.mx

On January 14th, the Office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) called on the Mexican State in a statement to redouble efforts to advance the effective implementation of the General Law for Matters of Forced Disappearance of Persons, Disappearance committed by Individuals and on the National Persons Search System.

Two years after the entry into force of this law, the UNHCHR announced that “the publication of new official information and public recognition of the problem are advances. Likewise, it has observed progress in the institutional consolidation of the National Search Commission and the formation of the majority of the state commissions.”Two years after the entry into force of this law, the UN-DH announced that “the publication of new official information and public recognition of the problem are progress. Likewise, it has observed progress in the institutional consolidation of the National Search Commission and in the formation of the majority of the state search commissions.”

However, “it is still necessary to continue promoting legislative harmonization and institutional consolidation. In this regard, there are 23 federated entities to pass their local legislation harmonized with the General Law; 28 do not have a harmonized law of special declaration of absence; seven must still form their prosecutor’s office specializing in crimes of disappearance and three have yet to create their local commission.”

It considered that in relation to a diagnosis that favors the design of better strategies for the attention and eradication of disappearances “it is worrisome that there is still no full collaboration in the matter between the federation and the states. An example of this is that not all state law enforcement agencies have sent updated or complete information on missing persons for their incorporation into the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons.”

It especially encouraged the state authorities to continue advancing “in the adoption of the programs, registries and databases established in the Law and to continue working to strengthen the search and research efforts, through institutional, budgetary and regulations. ”And to all the authorities involved in consolidating the operation of the Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism.

Finally, it invited the Mexican State to strengthen the spaces for collaboration and technical assistance with specialized international organizations.National Search Commission and in the formation of the majority of the state search commissions. ”

However, “it is still necessary to continue promoting legislative harmonization and institutional consolidation. In this regard, there are 23 federated entities to pass their local legislation harmonized with the General Law; 28 do not have a harmonized law of special declaration of absence; seven must still form their prosecutor’s office specializing in crimes of disappearance and three have yet to create their local commission. ”

It considered that in relation to a diagnosis that favors the design of better strategies for the attention and eradication of disappearances “it is worrisome that there is still no full collaboration in the matter between the federation and the states. An example of this is that not all state law enforcement agencies have sent updated or complete information on missing persons for their incorporation into the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons.”

It especially encouraged the state authorities to continue advancing “in the adoption of the programs, registries and databases established in the Law and to continue working to strengthen the search and research efforts, through institutional, budgetary and regulations measures”, and to all the authorities involved in consolidating the operation of the Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism.

Finally, it invited the Mexican State to strengthen the spaces for collaboration and technical assistance with specialized international organizations.

For more information in Spanish:

ONU-DH: a dos años de su entrada en vigor, es necesario redoblar esfuerzos en la implementación de la ley sobre desaparición de personas (ONU-DH, 14 de enero de 2020)

ONU-DH presiona para que gobiernos implementen ley sobre desaparición de personas (Proceso, 14 de enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National/Guerrero: Agreement to Reintroduce Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts in Ayotzinapa Case. Number of Disappeared Increases in the Country (January 14, 2020)

Guerrero: Body of Activist Arnulfo Cero Found in Hidden Grave More than One Month after his Disappearance in Tlapa de Comonfort (November 24, 2019)

International/National : Un Human Rights Committee Issues 48 Human Rights Recommendations for Mexico (November 12, 2019)

Nacional: Se lleva a cabo el coloquio “El Estado de la Búsqueda de Desaparecidos en Guerrero. Retos y perspectivas” (November 6, 2019)

National/Chiapas: CNDH Asks INM and COMAR for Precautionary Measures for 78 People Stranded in Tapachula

@SIPAZ

On January 10th, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) published a request addressed to the National Institute of Migration (INM) and the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) expressing concern at the breach of the deadlines set by the Law in Regarding the procedures of immigration regularization.

According to records published by Andres Ramirez, head of COMAR, the number of asylum applications in Mexico in 2019 grew 2.6 times compared to the figures of the previous year. During the past 12 months, shelter applications were received from 70,302 people, mostly from Central American countries. The country from which most applications were registered was Honduras with an total of 30,045, followed by El Salvador (8,991) Cuba (8,677), Venezuela (7,662), Haiti (5,338), Guatemala (3,758) and Nicaragua (2,227).

The COMAR delegation in Tapachula, Chiapas, is where most of the applications are delivered, so there are a large number of cases not yet dealt with, so migrants are stranded in the city. In its communiqué published on January 10th, the CNDH specifically referred to the cases of 78 people who, unable to leave Tapachula, face an increase in the conditions of vulnerability of migrants who had to flee their countries as victims of forced displacement, internal conflicts and violations of their human rights.

It also denounced that in some cases they find it impossible to move forward in their process because the authorities ask them to install an email account. “These people, among whom there are women, girls and boys, denounced that the authorities require them to have an email account for notifications, but due to their condition they lack access to electronic and internet media.”

The CNDH requested that the procedures for the registration of applications be expedited and requested “to said authorities that the immigration regularization procedures and the applications for recognition be resolved with respect to the deadlines established by the Law”.

For more information in Spanish:

CNDH demanda al INM protección para 78 refugiados (El Sol de México el 11 de enero de 2020)

Solicitan medidas cautelares y respuesta a solicitantes de refugio varados en Tapachula (Chiapasparalelo el 12 de enero de 2020)

70.302 migrantes de países de todo el mundo solicitaron refugio en México durante 2019 (BIZ Republic)

Solicitud CNDH (10 enero de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Civil Organizations Report on Observation Mission in Tapachula (November 24, 2019)

Chiapas: Migration Authorities Stop Migrant Caravan in Tapachula (October 17, 2019)

Chiapas: African Migrants Clash with National Guard in Tapachula

(October 8, 2019)

International/National: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ends Mexican Visit while African Migrants Protest in Tapachula (October 7, 2019)

Chiapas: Federal Police Attack Migrants and Journalists at Migration Center in Tapachula (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas/National/International: Human Rights Organizations Demand End to Child and Adolescent Migrant Detentions (May 26, 2019)

National/International: CNDH Requests Special Measures for Migrants (May 8, 2019)