Solidarity With The Triqui People

The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) stands with the indigenous communities of the Triqui peoples in Mexico after the violent dispersal, “kidnapping” and attacks by Mexico City riot police last Monday, April 25.

On Monday evening, Mexico City police blocked around 70 protesting indigenous Triqui and Otomi peoples lead by Movimiento de Unificación y Lucha Triqui Independiente (Independent Movement for Triqui Unification and Struggle/ MULTI) together with media and residents of Mexico City resulting in beatings and arrests, disappearance of a Triqui child and several protesters.

The indigenous Triqui community have been in a protest camp for 15 months at Benito Juarez Avenue, Mexico City’s main square near the National Palace, after paramilitary groups attacked and displaced them from their land in Tierra Blanca Copala, Oaxaca, south part of Mexico.

According to reports, the Mexico City police removed their camp without notice to forcibly transfer into an improvised shelter in the Venustiano Carranza municipality which protesters refused due to its “unsanitary and degrading” conditions.

The Mexico City government has also asked the displaced communities to agree not to hold protests and mobilizations in Mexico City anymore, according to Triqui protesters, to which they refused. Triqui protesters decried being surrounded and kidnapped by more than 300 grenadiers and 1,000 police officers.

After 40 hours of police enclosement, the Triqui community were able to push through and transfer their camp to the headquarters of Mexico’s Student Movement.

In support, the Triqui community put up road blockades in the Juxtlahuaca area and a demonstration at the installations of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the People of Oaxaca (DDHPO) to condemn the repression in Mexico City.

Displaced by violence

“We don’t kick people when they’re already down. But the Mexico City police and government just did that to our brothers and sisters seeking refuge in the city after losing their land and loved ones,” said Beverly Longid, International IPMSDL Global Coordinator.

Last December 2020, about 143 indigenous Triqui families forcibly evacuated and left their homes after paramilitaries took over their small town in Tierra Blanca and Copala in Oaxaca. Organized crime, drug cartels, and paramilitaries reportedly murdered people and seized their land to maintain political and economic control.

Mexico is the second most dangerous country for environmental activism, according to an article by Reporte Índigo published earlier this month, mentioning 30 murders in 2020 alone.

In 2020, about 4,077 Indigenous People were uprooted from their homes. Five indigenous villages have been relocated in Oaxaca alone, accounting for 33% of all Indigenous People displaced in Mexico. The Triqui neighborhood is one of the most affected by violence, according to the research.

The International IPMSDL joins the appeal to put an end to all types of violence, harassment, and intimidation directed towards the Triqui protest camp and its supporters and advocates.

We demand that the Triqui youngster Samuel be brought to light and that his safety and protection be guaranteed. We want an independent investigation and justice for the Triqui demonstrators and evacuees, as well as accountability from the police, Mexico City authorities, and the Mexican national government.

“The safe return of Triqui people to their homes must be ensured swiftly. The recognition of land rights and their governance over ancestral land, water and resources is key in overcoming the repression and challenges they face,” Longid said, calling Indigenous Peoples groups and communities, marginalized sectors and the international community in a unified fight.

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