Chiapas: March for Peace and Security in San Cristobal de Las Casas

On April 24^th, more than 300 people marched for peace and security in San Cristobal de Las Casas. This march was called after an eleven-year-old boy was kidnapped a few days before. Although the minor was rescued safe and sound by state police the night before the march, it was decided to go ahead with it. The protesters, many of them children, from at least five neighborhoods in the northern area of San Cristobal carried white flags and balloons.

Joaquín Garcia Perez, president of neighborhoods and colonies in the northern area of San Cristobal, declared that “we want peace not to be a utopia, but rather for those of us who live in this city to feel it.” “The children feel insecure and asked us to join the march; we do it to demand that the authorities fulfill its obligation to give us security,” he added.

A woman asked the authorities at the three levels to “come back to see us, it is of utmost importance for us, it is no longer just the northern area of San Cristobal where there is insecurity. All we want is peace and security.” The case of the kidnapping of the minor is added to the 2,476 cases of girls, boys and adolescents who disappeared from the year 2018 to March 2024, of which 40 percent have not been located.

For more information in Spanish:

Marchan por la paz y la seguridad en San Cristóbal de la Casas (La Jornada, 24 de abril de 2024)

Marcha por la Paz en San Cristóbal de Las Casas (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 24 de abril de 2024)

Residentes marchan en SCLC, Chiapas; exigen seguridad tras el secuestro de un menor (Milenio, 24 de abril de 2024)

Marchan por la paz y seguridad en San Cristóbal de Las Casas (NVI Noticias, 25 de abril de 2024)

For more information from SIPAZ: