Chiapas : Thousands of Teachers Suspend Classes in Area under Siege from Organized Crime

On September 18^th, about five thousand teachers who serve just over 150 thousand students of all educational levels in the municipalities of the mountain and border areas of Chiapas, decided to suspend work due to the wave of violence in this region linked to the turf wars between organized crime gangs. This situation has deteriorated significantly since 2021; and, more recently, forced by these criminal groups, residents keep the entrances to the municipalities blocked and are at checkpoints on the access routes to the region.

“Given the negligence and absenteeism of the competent authorities to confront the criminal acts committed by criminal groups in the Sierra Madre region of Chiapas, of which we are all aware and without having or seeing until now a prompt solution to the panic and the uncertainty caused to society, we determined to temporarily suspend teaching work activities in all schools in school zone 025”, stated the teachers of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, belonging to the Border-South region in an official letter. They announced that “we cannot put at risk the physical and psychological integrity of students, parents, teachers and society in general. Therefore, until they guarantee us the necessary social security conditions, we will not return to our daily work.”

In another communication, the teachers assigned to the Honduras de la Sierra region also reported their decision to suspend educational work “given the critical situation and the wave of violence that is happening in our region.”

For more information in Spanish:

Miles de maestros de Chiapas suspenden labores por violencia del crimen organizado (Chiapas Paralelo, 18 de septiembre de 2023)

Suspenden clases en regiones de Chiapas por violencia e inseguridad (Proceso, 18 de septiembre de 2023)

En Chiapas: docentes suspenden labores por violencia del crimen organizado (Aristegui Noticias, 18 de septiembre de 2023)

Escuelas de las regiones Sierra Madre y Fronteriza de Chiapas suspenden clases ante ola de violencia (Animal Político, 19 de septiembre de 2023)

For more information from SIPAZ: