The Committee for the Integral Protection of Human Rights Gobixha (Código-DH) is an organization located in Oaxaca de Juárez, which works to contribute in the re-installation of human and community rights from indigenous and Afro-mestizo groups; it also offers free legal counseling, health and psychological care to victims of human rights violations, and fosters access to justice and promotes the fight against impunity.
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.