Oaxaca: Courthouse Action for Political Prisoners of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón

The following is a translation by Voices in Movement of a statement from indigenous women from the community of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón in Oaxaca, Mexico. On May 16, they led the friends and families of political prisoners and persecuted members of the community in the taking the entrance of the courthouse in Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, to demand an end to the political repression affecting the community. For more than three years, seven members of the community have been imprisoned, facing serious, trumped-up charges in retaliation for defending their community’s autonomy and territory.

Today, we, as Indigenous Mazateca women, daughters, sisters, mothers and partners of the seven prisoners and persecuted of the community assembly of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, again raise our voice. We raise our voice to denounce that for three years and five months since December 14^th, 2014, we have lived amidst an environment of harassment and persecution on part of the Zepeda Lagunas family. This family has used positions of municipal authority (by imposition and not by following our traditional electoral system), media corporations, political relations and their economic wealth, to attempt to erase the memory of what is really happening and what has happened in our community.

We, together with our compañeros prisoners and persecuted, have lived for more than three years and five months, the injustice of imprisonment and the emotional and physical fatigue of which that entails. Our families have been damaged from the tranquility they have taken from our community. We, as Indigenous women, have had to confront the mistreatment, arrogance and disrespect of the personnel of the Mixed Court of the First Instance of the District of Huautla de Jiménez. We, as Indigenous Mazateca women of N’guixo, have known the nepotism and corruption of those that claim to represent justice.

In the three years and five months we have been demanding freedom for our compañeros, they have sought to trample us, telling fictitious stories outside of our mountains. However, you, personnel of the court, know well that the documentation they have invented, doesn’t have one piece of evidence sufficient to maintain our compañeros imprisoned and persecuted. As a result, up to this date, there have been more than five resolutions like Writs of Amparo, appeals, and even a sentencing which have freed seven other compañeros who were previously imprisoned. Stop covering up the lies of a family that has no other intention than to exploit our community and our natural resources. Stop putting the hands of justice in the game of corruption. Stop ridiculing us. Do not postpone any longer the freedom of our fathers, sons, brothers and compañeros.

As Indigenous Mazateca women of N’guixo, we again demand that you stop using false discourse to cover the Zepeda Lagunas family. We demand that you stop serving the interests of the caciques that have claimed our community. We demand that you free our compañeros because you know perfectly well that in the six versions of the expedient 02/2015, there is not one legitimate reason to maintain this lie.

For all of the pain and rage that we carry with us today, we say enough already of this mockery. Today, May 16^th, 2018, we are here, carrying out a fast in solidarity with our imprisoned compañeros and in demand of their freedom. Our presence in the court is our form of making visible your lies, of denouncing the process that has violated our supposed constitutional guarantees and due justice. In this court, you have up until now delayed the freedom of our compañeros. But today we want to make clear that we will not permit this anymore. Our voice has to be heard and we will struggle until it is so. We will not allow these lies to continue affecting our lives.

Women, daughters, mothers, sisters, compañeras of Herminio, Alfredo, Jaime, Omar, Fernando, Isaias, Miguel and the 16 persecuted