Peaceful Assembly
Mexico City Police violently attempt to evict indigenous people from a government building
On 12th October, members of the Otomí indigenous community took to the streets of Mexico City, temporarily closing the México-Coyoacán Avenue, in another effort to meet with the city’s leader, Martí Batres, to address chronic housing problems for 40 Otomí families.
In response, on 15th and 16th October, at least 500 Mexico City Police violently attempted to evict the Otomí indigenous people occupying the governmental office of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INTI) in Mexico City, also known as “Casa de los Pueblos y Comunidades Indígenas ‘Samir Flores Soberanes’”. At least 10 people were injured, including adolescent girls as young as 13. Human rights organisations and journalists documented the arrival of unknown individuals who threatened the gathering and carried out three gunshot detonations.
The Secretary of Government of Mexico City, Ricardo Ruiz, declared that the operation was aimed at removing the sit-in that had been ongoing since 12th October in reaction to various citizen complaints about the blockade’s impact on free movement. Additionally, Ruiz warned that during the operation, a group of about 40 people attacked 13 police members and public urban authorities with tubes, stones, fire extinguishers and other objects.
The 12th of October marked the third anniversary of the Otomí community’s occupation of the building, where they have persistently advocated for housing and other fundamental rights that remain unaddressed by the government. The families of Otomí descent were initially forced to desert their historic homes in the state of Querétaro due to lack of access to adequate water, electricity and education.
Until the end of October 2023, the Otomí community has upheld the blockade as a component of their efforts to establish a dialogue with the governor of the city.
Protestors take to the streets of Mexico City in remembrance of notorious incidents of human rights violations
On 26th September, nine years after the forced disappearance of 43 students, family members of the missing students marched through the streets of Mexico demanding answers. The marchers chanted the names of the missing students and said not enough had been done to atone for the murders - calling for the missing documents to be published publicly.
The case is one of Mexico’s most infamous human rights abuses, exposing a consistent pattern of the human rights and violence crisis in the country. Numerous government and military officials have been arrested, but military documents have been withheld key information.
As previously reported by the CIVICUS Monitor, in July 2023 the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (Grupo Interdisciplinario de Expertos Independientes, GIEI) stepped down from the investigation because the government failed to give them access to critical information. In September 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) declared that “the whereabouts of the missing students have not yet been determined, the facts have not yet been fully clarified and those responsible have not yet been punished.”
On 2nd October, generations of students gathered in the streets of Mexico City in remembrance of the military massacre of over 300 students that occurred during a peaceful protest ahead of the 1968 Olympics, also known as the Tlatelolco Massacre. Marches in Mexico City are held annually on 2nd October organised by the Pro Democratic Freedom 68 Committee, both to commemorate the massacre but also as a reminder that there are still many challenges across the education system. Adolfo Cruz, a local student participating in the march said, “Part of this is remembering all our deceased companions because it’s thanks to them we have the right to march today. We also want to change things.” According tothe EFE news agency, unknown individuals infiltrated among the protesters and attempted to disrupt the rally with fireworks, firecrackers, and some graffiti. The capital’s Secretariat of Citizen Security deployed hundreds of police officers.
On 23rd October, more than 1,800 protestors rallied in Mexico City in support of Palestine and demanded an end to Israeli aggression. The protest was organised by more than 50 civil society organisations representing students, feminist groups, and human rights activists. Protestors called on Mexico to demand compliance with UN Resolutions, international law and to break diplomatic relations with Israel, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a war criminal.”
Federal court workers demonstrate against imminent pension and benefits cuts
On 19th October, at least 55,000 unionised court employees declared a four-day strike in anticipation of the potential elimination of 13 trusts. Three days later, thousands of court employees across more than 20 cities took to the streets, claiming their rights to pensions, housing, health coverage and retirement were threatened. “The purpose of these funds is to have some kind of resource that aren’t subject to budgetary fluctuations,” said legal scholar Rodrigo Brito Melgaregjo. “They exist precisely to avoid people working in the judiciary turning to acts of corruption” he said.
On 24th October, Mexico’s Senate approved the bill that would eliminate $865 million in special budgetary funds for the judicial branch, potentially impacting the pension and health benefits of over 50,000 federal employees.
Association
Businesses in Mexico face allegations of depriving workers of right to association and banishing former employees
After employees of a VU Manufacturing plant in Piedra Negras, Coahuila, organised an independent union in 2022, the company allegedly collaborated with local business elites to shut down the plant and institute a blocklist against the former workers. As previously reported by the CIVICUS Monitor, in August 2022, the employees of the VU plant —a Michigan-based business— won a landmark election to establish the city’s first independent union, the Mexican Workers’ League (La Liga Obrera Mexicana).
Following this, VU Manufacturing refused to negotiate a new contract, wound down production, laid off at least 400 workers and shut down the plant in July. In September 2023, the former employees said that VU is now collaborating with the company-friendly union, the Confederation of Mexican Workers (Confederación de Trabajadores Mexicanos, CTM), to blocklist the employees from other businesses in the city.
In January 2023, workers from the Mexican Workers’ Union filed a second complaint under the Labor Rights and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM), alleging that workers’ rights were being denied at the VU Manufacturing facility in Coahuila. According to the complaint, VU Manufacturing “is alleged to favour an older union, CTM, and disfavour LSOM by affecting access to the facility, disciplining workers that support LSOM, and showing support for CTM.”
In March 2023, the US and Mexican governments announced a remediation plan to address the ongoing denial of rights. On 10th October 2023, US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai expressed that:
“The United States is constantly working with our partners in Mexico to ensure that our trade is fair and respects workers’ rights. The U.S. will continue to monitor the situation regarding Manufactures VU to verify that the rights of workers previously employed by the company are respected, that outstanding wages are paid, and that neither the company nor any potential successors violate the terms of the USMCA.”
Over the past months, similar cases have been reported to the RRM. On 25th September 2023, the USTR asked Mexico to officially investigate allegations that workers at the Teklas Automotive plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, are being denied their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
A month later, the USTR also asked Mexico to review another labour case and determine whether workers at Caterpillar subsidiary “Tecnología Modificada” in Nuevo Laredo are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
New report exposes alarming rate of environmental defenders enforced disappearances in Mexico
According to a new report published in Mongabay, a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform, 93 environmental and land defenders have been victims of enforced disappearance from 1st December 2006 to 1st August 2023. Of these cases, at least 62 involve defenders from indigenous communities. The states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Sonora, Jalisco and Oaxaca, particularly in regions with mining and logging activities, stand out as hotspots of violence against those defending the environment and their territory.
In the context of the current administration under Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 58 environmental and land defenders were documented as victims of enforced disappearance; 28 were found dead, ten were located alive, and the status of 20 remains unknown.
La investigación #DefensoresDesaparecidos, realizada por @MongabayLatam, @quintoelab y @DesaparecerEnMx, documenta por primera vez cuántos defensores del ambiente y el territorio fueron víctimas de desaparición desde diciembre de 2006 en México. https://t.co/yYxS5MEbnW
— Mongabay Latam (@MongabayLatam) October 20, 2023
Expression
Attacks on journalists continue
On 25th September, veteran crime reporter Jesus Gutiérrez was shot and killed —along with a police officer—near the U.S. border city of San Luis Rio Colorado. Three others were wounded in the shooting. According to the city’s mayor, the attack was directed at the policemen. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for purposeful investigation:
Although the arrest of three suspects one day after the attack is a welcome move in a country where the vast majority of press killings go unpunished, it is vital that authorities determine the motive behind the shootings and whether there was any link to Gutiérrez’s work.
- Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative.
On 16th October, a journalist was physically attacked by the Mexico City Police while reporting on a violent attempt to evict members of the Otomí community, as described under the peaceful assembly section. According to the journalist's testimony, she was surrounded, pulled to the ground, and subjected to blows to her head. Despite asserting her press status, the police attempted to snatch her camera and phone, eventually succeeding in detaching the lens from her camera. The journalist was only able to escape further harm with the intervention of a community member who also suffered physical assault while coming to her aid.
Journalists’ murderers sentenced
On 14th September 2023, a federal judge in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato sentenced the murderer of a Mexican reporter to 27-and-a-half-years in prison. This is the second sentencing in the case, following a 20-year sentence given to another individual accused of the murder of reporter Israel Vazquez. Both convicted men were members of a local criminal gang.
Other developments
Decriminalisation of abortion: A landmark decision
On 6th September 2023, Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalized abortion, removing federal penalties and ruling that laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights. Public health services and all federal health institutions are now required to offer abortion to anyone who requests it. Although abortion is allowed at the federal level, 20 Mexican states still ban the practice.