@Proceso
On February 7th, 56 women, 39 girls and boys, five babies and 58 men had to flee their homes in the Ejido Saltillo in the municipality of Las Margaritas. They denounced that in the early hours of that Tuesday, a group of people supposedly belonging to the Alliance of Social Organizations and Unions of the Left (ASSI), an organization that is said to be related to the mayor of Las Margaritas, Bladimir Hernandez Alvarez, entered the Ejido armed with clubs, machetes and firearms, burned 27 houses and destroyed others, killed animals and expelled these 42 families.
The displaced persons “indicated that for not resigning from the Independent Central of Agricultural Workers and Peasants-Historica (CIOAC-Historica) to which they belong and joining ASSI is that they proceeded to expel them from their homes and threatened not to return.”
Faced with this situation, various civil society organizations launched a collective statement in which they denounced the situation and demanded that the authorities intervene to find a solution for these families who have had to seek refuge in the municipal seat and in neighboring communities.
“With great concern, pain and a sense of helplessness, we highlight the suffering that families from the Ejido Saltillo in the municipality of Las Margaritas, Chiapas suffer, after being displaced from their homes located in said town, today we position ourselves in favor of providing attention to this problem in an expeditious, timely, and effective manner and that the Comprehensive Model of Attention to Victims be applied.”
The displaced families also urged the authorities for a prompt solution, stating: “We are in a situation of total vulnerability, since they have left us without homes, without family support, affecting families, with a total of 198 people. We lost everything and the municipal council has not given a hand to help solve the problem, on the contrary, it has contributed and financed weapons so that they continue to affect us. Therefore, we demand prompt solution to these problems.”
For more information in Spanish:
Destruyen sus casas y provocan el desplazamiento forzado de casi 200 personas en Chiapas (Proceso 9 de febrero de 2023)
¡Ya no tienen paz! Desplazados en Las Margaritas denuncian violencia y hostigamiento (El Heraldo de Chiapas (11 de febrero de 2023)
PRONUNCIAMIENTO COLECTIVO: ¡No más violencia! Atención inmediata al desplazamiento de 42 familias del Ejido Saltillo del municipio de Las Margaritas, Chiapas (10 de febrero de 2023)
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