On 1 November 2024, ProtectDefenders.eu has received worrying information regarding the killings of Indigenous priest and human rights defender Marcelo Pérez Pérez and of young journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís for their legitimate work for the promotion of indigenous rights and press freedom in the country.
On 20 October 2024, indigenous Tzotzil priest and human rights defender Marcelo Pérez Pérez was killed in the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, State of Chiapas, by an armed men on a motorcycle. On 22 October 2024, the governor of Chiapas informed the capture of the alleged perpetrator of the murder.
Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez was an indigenous priest and human rights defender based in Simojovel. He coordinated the Social Pastoral of the Province of Chiapas. He actively supported and collaborated with the religious indigenous movement, which denounces projects that threaten the beliefs and their autonomous living of indigenous people. Furthermore, his was key figure in the peace process of the conflict between armed and self-defence groups in the municipality of Pantelhó, where the situation of violence has exponentially increased since 2021.
Because of his defense of indigenous rights in Chiapas, the defender had been threatened and surveilled for more than a decade. Most recently, on 30 April 2024, we received information that the defender was victim of death threats and surveillance by unknown individuals. The high risk situation of the defender led to him being the beneficiary of precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights since 2015.
ProtectDefenders.eu has also received information on the killing of 25 years old journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís on 29 October 2024. He was shot dead in the municipality of Uruapan, in the state of Michoacán. Mauricio Cruz Solís was the director the digital media Minuto x Minuto and presenter of the news programme « La Poderosa Uruapan » (“The Powerful Uruapan”) on the local radio station Radiorama. Through his journalism, he reported on issues related to public safety and local politics.
The case of Mauricio is part of a widespread climate of violence against journalists and press freedom in the country. Consortium partner reported the killing of four other journalists since the start of 2024, while 37 have been killed in the past six years, making Mexico one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. This trend that has been increasing in the past month, despite the arrival of the Sheinbaum administration and the commitments made to fight impunity for crimes against journalists in the country. Currently, Mexico scores 121/180 in RSF World Press Freedom Index. It is evident that the implementation of effective measures for the protection of journalists in Mexico must be a priority for the new administration.
