PBI-Mexico condemns the murder of Indigenous Maya Tzotzil Padre Marcelo Pérez Pérez

Published by Brent Patterson on October 21, 2024October 21, 2024

PBI-Mexico has posted:

“We are deeply shocked by the murder of Father Marcelo.

We condemn his murder, call for a thorough investigation into this crime, and recall the Mexican State’s obligation to protect human rights defenders.”

In July 2022, PBI-Mexico joined with other organizations to “urge the federal government to protect and guarantee the personal freedom of Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez” and called “for the recognition of the legitimate work of defense of human rights carried out by Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez and for all pertinent actions to be carried out to guarantee the exercise of his rights, as well as his physical and emotional integrity.”

Front Line Defenders has previously noted: “Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez is an indigenous priest and human rights defender based in Simojovel. …Within the movement of Pueblo Creyente por la Defensa de la Madre Tierra (Believing People for the Defense of Mother Earth),  Marcelo Pérez Pérez has led pilgrimages and activities related to issues such as access to healthcare, poverty and violence, targeting the population of the Municipality of Simojovel in Chiapas. Despite the lack of political will and protection, he continues his religious activities in defence of the rights of indigenous peoples.”

The Associated Press reports: “Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers in southern Mexico, was killed on Sunday [October 20]. The prosecutors’ office in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the state of Chiapas, said the religious leader was shot dead by two gunmen when he was in his van. Pérez was a member of the Tzotzil Indigenous people and had just finished serving a Mass when he was attacked. He served the community for two decades and was known as a negotiator in conflicts in a mountainous region of Chiapas where crime, violence and land disputes are rife.”

The Jesuits in Mexico have stated: “This region doesn’t just suffer from murders, but also forced recruitment (into criminal groups), kidnappings, threats and ransacking of its natural resources.”

And the United Nations human rights office in Mexico says: “Several national and international organizations had publicly warned about the growing number of threats, attacks and acts of criminalization against (Perez), which have intensified in recent years due to his tireless work in favor of justice and the rights of indigenous peoples.”

The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center, a civil organization that works for the defence and promotion of human rights in the State of Chiapas, is calling “on national and international civil society to repudiate this crime by joining our demands” including “that the Mexican State provide truth and justice in the face of this crime through a diligent investigation of the material and intellectual authors, taking into account his work as a human rights defender and peacebuilder.”

This morning, Sonora Visión Noticias tweeted: “The President @Claudiashein regrets the murder of the Tzotzil Father, Marcelo Perez Perez, in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. She said that an investigation is already underway so that this crime does not go unpunished.”

We continue to follow this.