Author: Aluna Acompañamiento Psicosocial

Because of their work in defense of human rights, women human rights defenders challenge the traditional gender roles of the patriarchal society that keeps women in the domestic sphere. Consequently, women human rights defenders often suffer from serious public defamation campaigns that aim to damage their reputation, accusing them, among others, of neglecting their family or of being in search of sexual partners. In addition, women human rights defenders are often targets of attacks, threats and harassment, also of a sexual nature.

Photo credits: Reforma

During the past few months, PBI along with other national and international organisations, has called attention to the extraordinary risk people defending their territory against economic projects are living through in Mexico and across the whole region of Latin America.  During the past weeks these warning have become a reality in Mexico, and unfortunately, the situation we foresaw is beginning to take place.

In a context of debates and proposals in Mexico around the conformation of a National Guard in charge of pubic security, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) published it´s sentence in the Alvarado Case on 28th November 2018, an emblematic case of forced disappearances caused by the context of militarisation, that happened in 2009 in the State of Chihuahua.  An historic tragedy, this case tells of the various serious human rights issues in the country: forced disappearances, forced displacement, impunity and militarisation

Understanding happiness as a form of resistance and rebellion is not always an east process, especially when there are so many reasons not to smile.

Damian Gallardo was in prison for over 5 years, however, this wasn´t enough to dampen or silence his struggle.

“Whenever a Pasta de Conchos memorial comes up, people seek me out to speak to me and I tell them again why I collect rubbish… As if I did it for fun.  My son lived with me and was the one who sustained me… Because of the authorities, I have been working in a rubbish tip since my son died.  I leave at six in the morning after drinking a cup of coffee with biscuits.  I take a tin of tuna, tortillas or whatever I can eat in the rubbish tip… I get home in the afternoon… I make myself another coffee with biscuits and go to sleep.

From PBI we observe certain important actions from AMLO´s new government that favour the protection of human rights defenders in Mexico, however at the same time we have noted a few tendencies that concern us.  In this article we look at a few achievements and challenges for the new government and the reactions from Mexican and international civil society about the first few weeks of the MORENA government.

“Mexico should assure the rights of association, reunion, protest and liberty of expression of Alejandro Cerezo, in every way possible, including diplomatic activities, especially in the cases recognised as criminalisation of defence, as is the that of the Comité Cerezo Mexico.”

- Espacio-OSC

In this month of January 2019 we commemorate for the second year in a row the anniversary of the killings of two indigenous Rarámuri leaders in the Sierra Tarahumara in the State of Chihuahua in the North of Mexico.  Isidro Baldenegro Lóperz, killed on 15th Janurary 2017, was an environmental defender, particularly focused on illegal logging in the municipality of Guadalupe and Calvo.  For a long time his work was backed up and recognised