The past few months have witnessed significant change in Mexico given the election of a new President and the promises and commitments his new government have already laid out.

Photo: “The industrialisation of the countryside”, mural by Grace Greenwood in the Abelardo Rodriguez market, Mexico City

This was declared by more than 30 rural indigenous communities from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, accompanied by organisations and collectives from the State, in the framework of the Conference of Communities from the Central Valleys Against Mining, “Here we say Yes to Life and No to Mining”, an event accompanied by PBI that was held on 22nd June, the State day of rebellion against mining, in the municipality of San Antonio Castillo Velasco, district of Ocotlán.

Photo: a mural at the Casa del Migrante Saltillo representing the countries of Latin America, painted by a migrant who passed through the Casa

Photo: Cloete, Coahuila 

Interview conducted by PBI with Alberto Solís Castro, Executive Director of Services and Consultation for Peace (Servicios y Asesoría para la Paz — SERAPAZ), an organization dedicated to positively transforming conflicts and fostering peace. They help indigenous and campesino movements that are defending their territory, environment and natural resources from large scale economic projects. SERAPAZ is member of the Espacio_OSC, which is accompanied by PBI.

Photo: Tom Pierce for The Guardian

On 19th June 2016, during a protest by the teacher-training college and member of the communities of Asunción, Nochixtlán, San Pablo Huitzo, San Franzisco Telixtlahuaca, Hacienda Blanca and Viguera that requested a dialgoue with the Federal Government in order to revise the educational reforms, many participants were seriously assaulted by different security forces in an attempt to halt the protest.

For PBI, as for many other civil society organisations, 2017 posed significant challenges. The six years of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration have been characterised by a continuation of the widely-questioned security policies initiated during the presidency of his predecessor Felipe Calderón, and by a marked reduction in the political space available to Mexican and international civil society organisations.

From the 17th til the 23rd of July this year, three human rights defenders from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras left their homes and headed North of the contient in order to participate in a speaker tour organised by PBI in Washington DC.  The tours we organise to the United States are always aimed at shedding light on the security situation for human rights defenders before key actors who can advocate in some way to improve their protection on the ground.