On April 4th, the bishops of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas (Rodrigo Aguilar Martinez and his assistant, Luis Manuel Lopez Alfaro) as well as the vicar for justice and peace, Miguel Angel Montoya Moreno shared a statement at a press conference in which they expressed their “concern about the social breakdown that is increasing due to the generalized violence in the municipalities of Chicomuselo, Frontera Comalapa, La Trinitaria, Comitan and Las Margaritas”, among others, where “the dispute over the territory is deteriorating every day along with the social fabric.” This in at least 28 municipalities of the state that correspond to the areas they cover.
They stated that “we have heard loudly like a cry in the desert the situation of structural and institutionalized violence with the presence of organized crime, the proliferation of armed groups, some functioning as shock groups.” The pronouncement detailed in elements of concern “the dispute for territory that is deteriorating more and more the social fabric, the excessive exploitation of natural resources (reactivation of mining extraction; illegal sale of wood, stone material, gasoline, etc.), the manipulation and the stripping of the dignity of our peoples, psychological warfare, femicides, the detriment of community strength, the criminalization of peaceful struggles and resistance, as well as the pastoral activities of our diocese that invite a full awareness of dignity of daughters and sons of God, subjects of law.”
The diocese also pointed out “the strong impunity that prevails in the state, the increase in insecurity and violence overwhelmed by crime cells, the political-legal system that criminalizes human rights defenders, the lack of access to full justice, the infiltration of people in acts of worship and in meetings of servants, the fabrication of crimes, the lack of interest in the reconstruction of the social fabric by the competent authorities.”
The pronouncement ends by stating that “As the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas, we urge an end to the persecution, repression, intimidation and threats against the lives of our sisters and brothers who fight for the construction of a more supportive and fraternal-sororal world. Because a world without violence is possible, let’s build peace in our towns and communities.”
For more information in Spanish:
Comunicado completo de la diócesis de San Cristóbal de Las Casas (4 de abril de 2023)
Narcoviolencia y descomposición social se dispara en Chiapas: obispos (Proceso, 4 de abril de 2023)
Preocupa a diócesis de San Cristóbal descomposición social (La Jornada, 4 de abril de 2023)
Impunidad y violencia denuncia la Diócesis de San Cristóbal (Diario de Chiapas, 4 de abril de 2023)
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