The delegation of the European Union (EU) in Mexico, along with the embassies of Norway and Switzerland, strongly condemned the murder of the priest and indigenous human rights defender Marcelo Pérez Pérez. The tragic event occurred last Sunday, October 20, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, when armed individuals shot at his vehicle.
According to the issued statement, Father Marcelo Pérez was recognized as a prominent defender of peace and justice in Chiapas and had received precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) since 2015. His death highlights the severe level of violence and intimidation faced by many human rights defenders in Mexico, representing a threat to fundamental rights.
Father Marcelo, belonging to the Tzotzil ethnicity and a fighter for the rights of indigenous peoples, was shot while in his car in the Cuxtitali neighborhood of San Cristóbal de las Casas. The news of the murder has generated outrage in the Catholic Church and in international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office in Mexico (UN-DH), which has documented multiple murders of human rights defenders in Mexico in recent years.
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed that the Attorney General's Office (FGR) has taken over the investigation of the case and dismissed the existence of a 'civil war' scenario in Chiapas, as suggested by the Indigenous National Congress (CNI). In this regard, they urged authorities to ensure safe environments and protection for human rights defenders in the country, preventing areas where these professionals cannot perform their work for fear of reprisals.
