On August 19th, thousands of faithful of the Catholic Church from the parishes belonging to the Ch’ol zone of the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas held a pilgrimage for Peace in Palenque, while members of the Southeast zone did the same in Comitán.
In the case of the Ch’ol zone, the pilgrims questioned some aspects of the Maya Train Project: “We wonder about the experience of accompanying our impoverished peoples, who are getting poorer and richer and richer. Who will be the true beneficiaries of the project? Will there be real jobs for professionals and non-professionals from the towns involved? Will there be an equitable and fair economic flow? How will the families of our towns benefit? True respect and care for our Mother Earth?” Similarly, they denounced the failures of the health system, “the impunity and corruption of the judicial system” and the fact that “political parties seek to satisfy personal or group interests that pervert the noble purpose of politics and they move away from the true needs and legitimate expectations of the people.”
In the case of the Southeast zone, a statement from Believing People (Pueblo Creyente) pointed out the “generalized situation of violence and insecurity, caused mainly by the presence of organized crime and its sequel of murders, kidnappings and disappearances, threats and harassment against the defenders of Human Rights, the leaders of the communities and the people in general” in the area.
They highlighted in particular “the presence of organized crime that operates with total impunity, with the objective of controlling the territory, exploiting its natural resources and collecting the right of residence and passage, violating the human rights of the communities”; as well as “the conversion of our territories and communities into battlefields, where the different groups of organized crime carry out armed confrontations, to ensure control of the territory or of the disputed routes. This generates: murders, kidnappings, disappearances, blockades, fear and forced displacement of people and entire families.” For this reason, they demanded “that the three levels of Government, each one in the area that corresponds to it, comply with the constitutional task that has been assigned to them of guaranteeing peace and security to the communities and the people in general”; and, that “our communities be freed from the control of organized crime, so that they can recover the sovereignty of their territories and the autonomy of their lives.”
For more information in Spanish:
Comunicado del Pueblo Creyente de la zona Ch’ol (19 de julio de 2023)
Palabra del Equipo Sureste de la Diócesis de San Cristóbal de Las Casas en peregrinación por la paz (19 de julio de 2023)
En Palenque y Comitán: Con peregrinaciones denuncian presencia de crimen organizado en sus comunidades (Chiapas Paralelo, 20 de agosto de 2023)
Chiapas: miles de católicos marchan por la paz (La Jornada, 20 de agosto de 2023)
Católicos se expresan por el bienestar en Comitán (Cuarto Poder, 20 de agosto de 2023)
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