Chiapas: Agreement to End Second Nurses’ Hunger Strike in Chiapas

(Photo@La silla rota)

On May 24th, the five nurses who held a hunger strike for 23 days at Rafael Pascacio Gamboa Regional Hospital in Tuxtla Gutierrez ended the strike. The decision was taken after a meeting between representatives of the protestors and officials of Manuel Velasco’s government.

The government entered the dialogue after the deep concern expressed by the UN and non-governmental organizations such as the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba) and Women’s Rights of Chiapas (CDMCH), who asked the International Commission on Human Rights (ICHR) for precautionary measures to protect the lives of the five nurses.

 The nurses had begun this strike to demand “the unconditional reinstallation of 15 health workers dismissed by the protest they have been promoting over the payment of salaries and legal benefits, as well as the supply of medicines and supplies in hospitals and clinics in Chiapas.”

Despite ending the strike, workers in the health sector assured that the protest movement has not ended and will continue until the government meets all demands.

 For more information in Spanish:

Enfermeras en Chiapas concluyen huelga de hambre, pero advierten que su lucha sigue (Proceso, 24 de mayo de 2017)

Liberan a enfermeras de huelga de hambre en Chiapas (Debate, 24 de mayo de 2017)

Piden medidas por enfermeras de Chiapas (NTRZacatecas, 23 de mayo de 2017)

Se agrava salud de enfermeras en huelga de hambre, ONU pide a gobierno atienda sus legítimas demandas (Chiapas Paralelo, 22 de mayo de 2017)

Internan de emergencia a otra enfermera en huelga de hambre en Chiapas (Proceso, 22 de mayo de 2017)

Reportan gravedad de enfermeras en huelga de hambre en Chiapas (El Universal, 20 de mayo de 2017)

Enfermeras continúan en huelga de hambre en Chiapas (La Jordana, 19 de mayo de 2017)

Hospitalizan a enfermera que estaba en huelga de hambre en Chiapas (El Financiero, 23 de mayo de 2017)

Representante de ONU visita a enfermeras en huelga de Chiapas (El Universal, 20 de mayo de 2017)

Reportan en estado crítico a enfermera en huelga de hambre en Chiapas (Proceso, 17 de mayo de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas : Enfermeras retoman huelga de hambre y denuncian incumplimiento de acuerdos por parte del gobierno del estado (2 de mayo de 2017)

Chiapas : Enfermeras levantan huelga de hambre tras llegar a acuerdos (17 de abril de 2017)

Chiapas : Siguen en huelga de hambre ocho enfermeras en Tuxtla Gutiérrez (11 de abril de 2017)

Chiapas : Cinco enfermeras inician huelga de hambre en Tuxtla Gutiérrez (3 de abril de 2017)

Chiapas/México: Sector salud entra en paro contra las reformas del sector salud, la falta de medicamentos y equipo (22 de junio de 2016)

Chiapas: Press Conference – Crises of Health and Violence against Women

Press conference – Crises of healthe and violence against women (Photo: @Sipaz)

On May 23rd, a press conference was convened by the People’s Campaign against Violence against Women and Femicide in Chiapas, in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.

Members of the convening group explained that they were present at the third regular meeting of the Inter-institutional and Multidisciplinary Group (GIM in its Spanish acronym), held in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez on May 18th and 19th, to follow up the Declaration of an Alert on Gender Violence (AVG in its Spanish acronym) against women in the state. They explained that three working groups were held: one to coordinate and implement the AVG in localities declared on alert (some of the municipal mayors were present); a health group with officials of the state health secretariat and a justice group where representatives of district attorneys and specialists for the state of Chiapas were present. The meetings were coordinated by Maria de los Angeles Aguilar on behalf of the National Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women (CONAVIM in its Spanish acronym) and on behalf of the Chiapas government, Pedro Villafuerte, Undersecretary of Political Operation of the General Secretariat of Government, was present.

The campaign noted “some urgent comments to address as the increase in violence against women and femicide in different regions of the state continues to indicate the lack of capacity of institutions in the state to react and address the urgent measure of the Alert.” It denounced the “inability of state government institutions to address the AVG”, the “absence of progress and setbacks in AVG implementation”, the “lack of accountability and transparency”, and the “lack of political will and absence of governability.”

Maria de Jesus Espinosa de los Santos, spokeswoman for the protest movement of the Rafael Pascacio Gamboa Women’s Hospital in Tuxtla Gutierrez was present at the same press conference. She noted the seriousness of the “health crisis in the state” and called on society to stand in solidarity with the nurses who were on hunger strike as of May 23rd.

Maria de Jesus Espinosa de los Santos: spokesperson for the protest movement at the Women’s Hospital (Photo: @Sipaz)

At the end of the conference they called for a mobilization in Tuxtla Gutierrez on May 26th “to demand that the state government comply with the obligation to guarantee the right to health and life, given the imminent health risk at the beginning of the season of heat and rain, such omission may lead to a significant increase in infant, maternal and deaths in the general population.”

 For more information in Spanish:

Incumple gobierno de Chiapas Declaratoria de Alerta de Violencia de Género (Campaña Popular contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres y el Feminicidio en Chiapas, a 23 de mayo de 2017)

Convocatoria a Marcha Estatal por el Derecho a la Salud en Chiapas (Campaña Popular contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres y el Feminicidio en Chiapas, a 10 de mayo de 2017)

Garantizar la vida de las mujeres (Chiapas Denuncia Pública)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas : Campaña Popular contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres cuestiona falta de avances de Alerta de Violencia de Género

Chiapas : Enfermeras retoman huelga de hambre y denuncian incumplimiento de acuerdos por parte del gobierno del estado

Chiapas : Enfermeras levantan huelga de hambre tras llegar a acuerdos

Chiapas : Siguen en huelga de hambre ocho enfermeras en Tuxtla Gutiérrez

Chiapas: Popular Campaign against Violence against Women Questions Lack of Progress on Gender Violence Alert

On April 21st, a regular meeting of the Inter-institutional and Multidisciplinary Group (GIM in its Spanish acronym) was held in Tuxtla Gutierrez, following up on the Declaration of a Gender Violence Alert (GVA) issued more than five months ago by the Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) through the National Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women (CONAVIM in its Spanish acronym).

 Following this, the Popular Campaign against Violence against Women and Femicide in Chiapas – made up of 21 civil organizations and dozens of individuals – said that “despite the commitments made by state and federal government institutions for the implementation of immediate actions to address the GVA, we point to the lack of commitment in clear and forceful actions to address the multiple complaints presented due to acts of violence and femicide against women in the different regions of Chiapas.”

 It questioned “the lack of interest and absence of the governor, Manuel Velasco Coello, and officials with decision-making capacity” as well as the fact that “the offices of attention to cases, health and coordination of municipalities have not been installed, despite the urgent need to see to the events of violence against women who continue to mount in the state.”

 The Campaign reiterated that “the partial declaration of GVA for 23 municipalities omits the serious violations of the human rights of women that are being committed in the other municipalities of the state that were not considered as part of the Declaration.”

It also criticized “the use and abuse that the state government, public servants and people invlved in domestic politics make of public resources to instrumentalize women beneficiaries of welfare programs, such as the “Prospera”, for political electoral purposes violating their right to decide and participate freely without any conditionins.”

 It is worth rcalling that according to data from the National Citizen Observatory on Femicide (OCNF in its Spanish acronym), Chiapas is in tenth place in the states of Mexico with the highest number of registered attacks on women.

 For more information in Spanish:

Aumentan feminicidios y dilación y omisión de autoridades en Chiapas: activistas y organizaciones (Desinformémonos, 22 de abril de 2017)

Gobierno estatal irresponsable en atender la Alerta por Violencia de Género en Chiapas (Comunicado de la Campaña Popular contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres y el Feminicidio, Chiapas Paralelo, 25 de abril de 2017)

Lejos de cumplir Alerta de Género, gobierno de Chiapas usa programa con fines electorales: ONG (Contralínea, 26 de abril de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Internacional/Chiapas: Día Internacional de la Mujer (13 de marzo de 2017)

Chiapas : sigue la violencia hacia las mujeres (24 de febrero de 2017)

Chiapas: Día Internacional de Lucha Contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres (28 de noviembre de 2016)

 

Oaxaca: Seven Years of Impunity in Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola Case

(Photo@Amnistía Interncional)

April 27th marked seven years since the murder of human rights defenders Bety Cariño (37) and Jyri Jaakkola (33, Finnish) while they were involved in a caravan of humanitarian aid to the indigenous community of San Juan Copala, in the Triqui zone of Oaxaca. Although 13 perpetrators are fully identified, only five have been imprisoned so far.

Indigenous and campesino organizations recalled the events with a march and denounced that “During these seven years we have attended innumerable meetings with all kinds of authorities, and we have met with a wall of indifference, weak institutions and the complicities of federal authorities, which have not wanted to get to the bottom of things to punish the perpetrators of this crime, filing various inquiries that point to those responsible, seeking to hide the truth of what happened in the attack on the caravan and protect the authors, not only material but also intellectual of this and other crimes committed against community defenders in Oaxaca. Unsuccessful and appealing that the detention of those who murdered Bety and Jyri is not possible, the government seeks to simulate a trial by disqualifying the evidence that indicates the responsibility of the perpetrators, while the witnesses and victims who participated in the caravan have been subjected to harassment, permanent threats, attacks and all kinds of bother.”

 For more information in Spanish:

Con marcha exigen justicia para activistas asesinados hace siete años en Oaxaca (Proceso, 27 de abril de 2017)

La justicia para Bety y Jyri no llega (EL Imparcial de Oaxaca, 27 de abril de 2017)

Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola, siete años de un crimen impune (Contralínea, 27 de abril de 2017)

Pronunciamiento de organizaciones sociales e indígenas (26 de abril de 2017)

Siete años de impunidad en la Mixteca de Oaxaca: MAIZ (NVI Noticias, 26 de abril de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Oaxaca: Parlamentarias europeas vuelven a denunciar impunidad en el caso del asesinato de Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola (2 de marzo de 2017)

Oaxaca/Internacional : Suman 5 detenidos en el caso del asesinato de Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola (2010) (15 de octubre de 2016)

Oaxaca: PGR archiva el caso del asesinato de Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola (28 de abril de 2016)

Oaxaca: Gobierno del estado no recibe a eurodiputadas por “falta de voluntad” hacia el caso de Bety y Jyri (2 de octubre de 2015)

Chiapas: Zoque Activist, Silvia Juarez Juarez, Released

Silvia Juarez Juarez (photo @OMCT)

On March 28th, Silvia Juarez Juarez, a community human rights defender and member of the Movement in Defense of Zoque Territory, was released having been held for 35 days. This movement has been developing a process of civil and peaceful resistance against exploration, extraction of hydrocarbons and mining projects in the municipality of Tecpaan, Chiapas and in the Zoque region. Silvia had been arrested on February 21st in Tuxtla Gutierrez on charges of mutiny, harassment and kidnapping – allegedly against municipal officials – in the framework of a protest in which she did not participate, on February 13th.

On March 28th, the head of the State Attorney General’s Office, Raciel Lopez Salazar, withdrew from the criminal action for the crimes that were charged “considering that the agent of the Public Prosecutor’s Office lacked elements to prove the aforementioned crimes.” Therefore, the activist was released from the State Center for Social Reinsertion of the Sentenced No. 14, El Amate, in the municipality Cintalapa de Figueroa.

Nevertheless, Silvia Juarez is still subject to prosecution, “with the obligation to sign before the Court every two weeks, because Judge Cesar Rodriguez Robles, Supervisory Judge, considered that there are elements to prove the crime of damages. Facing threats of risk to her integrity and repeated harassment against the defenders of Zoque territory, Silvia Juarez cannot return home with her family.”

It is also worth mentioning that on the day Silvia Juarez Juarez was released, “the municipal president of Tecpatan, Armando Pastrana Jimenez, filed for an injunction for the withdrawal of the PGJE to prevent the community defender from leaving prison” and also maintained his complaint against 29 other community defenders.

In a statement on the case, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (FRAYBA),  expressed concern that “despite changes in the criminal justice system, in Chiapas, practices of violations of judicial guarantees and judicial protection, including presumption of innocence, continue, which result in arbitrary deprivation of liberty.”

For more information in Spanish:

Libre activista zoque, tras desistimiento de denuncia de PGJ Chiapas (Proceso, 5 de abril de 2017)

Liberan a indígena zoque Silvia Juárez (Expreso Chiapas, 6 de abril de 2017)

Silvia Juárez Juárez, defensora del territorio, en libertad (Chiapas Paralelo, 6 de abril de 2017)

Libre Silvia Juárez, defensora zoque (Primera edición Chiapas, 5 de abril de 2017)

Condena el Frayba encarcelamiento de Silvia Juárez (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 5 de abril de 2017)

Luego de 35 días en prisión, la activista Silvia Juárez Juárez es liberada (Aqui Noticias, 6 de abril de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas : denuncian criminalización de defensores de la Madre Tierra en zona zoque (1 de marzo de 2017)

Chiapas : comunidades zoques se oponen a extracción de hidrocarburos en el norte de Chiapas (20 de octubre de 2016)

Chiapas: Silvia Juárez Juárez anima a sus compañeros a seguir en la defensa de la tierra desde la cárcel (27 de marzo de 2017)

 

Chiapas: Fresh Post-Election Incidents in Oxchuc

Rosa Perez Perez (left) and Maria Gloria Sanchez Gomez (right), mayors of the indigenous municipalities of Chenalho and Oxchuc (@ la CimacNoticias)

On April 1, the post-electoral conflict reemerged in the municipality of Oxchuc, with the arrest of eight people, roadblocks between San Cristobal de Las Casas and Palenque, fireworks, bombs and shots fired.

These latest events are related to the order of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF in its Spanish acronym), which was issued on September 1, 2016, to reinstate Maria Gloria Sanchez Gamez as mayor of Oxchuc,.

Oxchuc is not the only municipality which faces such problems. In the municipality of Chenalho, there is also post-election conflict. In recent months, different bodies that operate in the state expressed their concerns about the post-electoral conflicts happening in different municipalities. To date, no intervention or proposal for a solution has been registered by the authorities.

For more intervention in Spanish:

Retienen a 8 tzeltales, resurge conflicto por disputa de alcaldía de Oxchuc (Radio Formula, 1 de abril de 2017)

Retienen a 8 tzeltales y bloquean carretera Oxchuc-San Cristóbal (Quadratin Noticias, 1ero de abril de 2017)

Piden mayor seguridad en Oxchuc (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 2 de abril de 2017)

Solicitan seguridad para habitantes de Oxchuc  (Mega Noticias, 3 de abril de 2017)

TEPJF ordena restituir a alcaldesa de Oxchuc; fue forzada a renunciar, resuelve (Revista Proceso, 1ero de septiembre de 2016)

Tribunal Electoral restituye a la alcaldesa de Oxchuc, Chiapas, quien fue forzada a renunciar (Aristegui Noticias, 1ero de septiembre de 2016)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: TEPJF ordena restitución de alcaldesa de Oxchuc (5 de septiembre de 2016)

Chiapas: conflicto partidista desata violencia en el municipio de Chenalhó (27 de marzo de 2017)

Chiapas : Dos muertos y decenas de heridos en Chenalhó por disputa de la alcaldía (9 de marzo de 2017)

Chiapas : Restitución en su cargo de alcaldesa de Chenalhó hace temer nueva situación de violencia (22 de agosto de 2016)

Chiapas: Five Nurses Begin Hunger Strike in Tuxtla Gutierrez

On April 3, five nurses began an indefinite hunger strike in Tuxtla Gutierrez to demand the unconditional reinstatement of 15 health workers dismissed over the protest they have been promoting, the payment of wages and legal benefits, as well as the supply of medicines and supplies to the hospitals and clinics of Chiapas. They occupied the entrance of the Rafael Pascacio Gamboa Hospital and announced at a press conference that, if there was no response from the authorities, a new health worker will join the hunger strike every 48 hours.

They explained that they came to this extreme decision faced with the indifference and repression of the authorities to solve the deficiencies in the hospitals of the state: “we received violence and threat”, and the proposal to “exchange reinstatement for silence”, adding that “sadly, so far six accepted, but the others reject and despise [the offer].”

They explained that for several months, they have demanded that the authorities do not “steal” their money anymore, because each month the quotas for the System of Retirement Savings (SAR in its Spanish acronym), Infonavit and other credit institutions are deducted from their salary, but the government has not paid these sums. Maria de Jesus Espinosa de los Santos, one of the strikers who has 30 years of service, explained in this way the money they are deducting “is not ending up where it should, such as SAR or Infonavit, and that is something which has hurt thousands of workers in this sector.”

At the beginning of the strike, activists from various organizations were present, including the Chiapas Women’s Union Front and the Chiapas Feminist Front.

For more information in Spanish:

 Cinco enfermeras inician huelga de hambre en Chiapas; exigen la reinstalación de 14 compañeros (Proceso, 3 de abril de 2017)

Enfermeras inician huelga de hambre en Tuxtla Gutiérrez (La Jornada, 3 de abril de 2017)

Enfermeras inician huelga de hambre para exigir medicamentos en Chiapas (Regeneración. 3 de abril de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:


Chiapas/México: Sector salud entra en paro contra las reformas del sector salud, la falta de medicamentos y equipo (22 de junio de 2016)