Members of the “Other Campaign” activist network marched in Mexico City Aug. 26 in protest of the recent evictions of campesino communities from the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in the conflicted southern state of Chiapas. (Expreso Chiapas, Aug. 27) On Aug. 31, Amnesty International issued a statement calling for an “immediate” suspension of evictions from the reserve. The statement expressed concern about the health conditions at the shelter in La Trinitaria where the expelled campesinosāincluding two pregnant womenāare being held. The organization also expressed concern about the six arrested in the evictions, calling for their release and for transparency in the cases against them. (La Jornada, Sept. 2)
See our last posts on the Mexico and the struggle in Chiapas.
Montes Azules evicted demand restitution
After staying in a public shelter in La Trinitaria and then a warehouse in Ocosingo, the five Zapatista families evicted in August from the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve are now housed at the Indigenous Center for Integal Development (CEDECI) in San Cristobal de Las Casas. The 23 indigenous Maya, the majority of them children, are demanding immediate medical assistance and restitution for their lost lands. (La Jornada, Sept. 29)