Displaying items by tag: Mexico

Ocampo’s entire police force was arrested following the murder of a left-wing mayoral candidate, Fernando Angeles Juarez, after a previous attempt to question them resulted in one official reportedly being ‘chased out in a hail of bullets.’ Ocampo, is plagued by illegal logging and gangs. Their police force is accused of being involved in corruption as Mexico attempts to fight back against the drug cartels. There is escalating violence because there are far more elections being held simultaneously than ever before in Mexico. With over 3,400 local, state and federal posts at stake, there are 15,000+ candidates on the campaign trail and criminal groups want ‘their people to win’ so they can gain control over territory, through local governments. At least 18 candidates have been killed while running for political posts.  The 1 July elections will decide the presidency, governorships and Congress.

In May, Amnesty International said the US government must stop separating asylum-seeking parents from their children and denying them access to asylum procedures through prolonged detention when they present themselves at the US-Mexico border. On 20 June Donald Trump ended this policy, following days of public outrage. Many asylum-seekers are fleeing violent countries which abuse human rights (such as Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala). They usually cross Mexico in caravans, as travelling in a group is safer in dangerous places. Although Trump seeks to brand them as criminals, it is not a crime to seek asylum at official border posts. Recently members of a caravan and their representatives marched through the streets of Tijuana to the border crossing point saying, ‘We are not criminals, we are the hope of Latin America’.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide called for action to end religious discrimination in Pakistani, Iranian, Burmese, Nigerian and Mexican schools. They explored violations where many children experience various forms of mistreatment because of their faith. During an event at the Speaker’s House, in the United Kingdom Parliament, attendees heard how children and young people experience discrimination, verbal abuse, physical violence and even forced conversion at school because of their religion or belief. The Executive Director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace in Pakistan said religious intolerance in his country is facilitated by syllabuses that fuel prejudice. He said, ‘This intolerance has threatened the entire social fabric of our nation, and we have to begin by addressing the biased education system, policies and practices prevalent in Pakistan,’ A speaker representing the Iranian Baha’i community called it ‘cradle to grave’ persecution, ‘Baha’i children do not have an absolute right to education.'

Rescue workers, backed by an army of untrained volunteers, are still searching for survivors buried under mounds of rubble in Mexico City. The death toll from the magnitude 7 earthquake, on 19 September, has reached 237 and is expected to rise. 44 buildings collapsed completely, and thousands are damaged and unstable, in the sprawling city built on a drained lakebed. As  rescuers work against the clock, there has been an outpouring of civic generosity. Thousands of people donated time and medicines, food and water, blankets and basic supplies, to help relief efforts. Restaurants delivered food to shelters where thousands of people were forced to seek refuge after their homes were damaged. But there is concern about the need to rely on civilian volunteers and donations, and the slow arrival of government rescue services to some poorer neighbourhoods. Many questions about building regulations resurfaced as rescue efforts continue. See the next article.

19 September was the 32nd anniversary of a hiuge earthquake in Mexico which resulted in thousands of deaths and many large buildings destroyed. This week’s quake demolished old buildings and less solidly-constructed new buildings. The cure for earthquake devastation is well known: fix the old buildings and improve construction methods for new ones. A complex and expensive decision, but necessary as Mexico City is notoriously vulnerable to earthquakes due to very soft and wet ground underneath. This amplifies the shaking, making the ground like jelly and prone to liquefaction. There have been 34 earthquakes bigger than magnitude 7 within 300 miles of Mexico City since 1900. There is clearly more work to do. Rodolfo Soriano Nuñez, a sociologist and independent public policy analyst, said that government new building codes are not working. ‘We see new buildings have collapsed while older ones have survived.’

On 30 August the Israel Rescue Coalition sent members of a psychotrauma and crisis response unit to Houston, to aid those who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. ‘People need help on the ground,’ said Dov Maisel. ‘They need to be able to wrap their minds around what was lost, and they need assistance figuring out how to cope and where to go from here.’ Maisel’s previous experience includes serving in Haiti in 2016 following Hurricane Matthew, and in Nepal in 2015 after a devastating earthquake. Meanwhile, Donald Trump's administration has not yet decided whether to accept assistance from Mexico to help the victims. The Mexican government expressed its ‘full solidarity’ with the people and government of the US, and said it had ‘offered to provide help and cooperation’ in the wake of Harvey. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Mexico provided soldiers to help serve meals, distribute supplies, and conduct medical consultations.

One journalist was killed while resting in a hammock at a carwash. A second was dragged from his car and shot dead near the newspaper he had co-founded. When another was killed in front of her son, the criminals left a note, 'For your long tongue'. Human rights groups say Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for reporters. More die here than in any other nation at peace. But even for a country so used to drugs-related violence and organised crime, the recent bloodshed has been shocking. Seven journalists have been killed in the country so far this year, most shot by gunmen in broad daylight. Yet virtually all cases of attacks on the press end up unsolved and, in many, corrupt officials are suspected of partnering with criminals. As the killings mount, is there anything that Mexico can do to save its journalists?

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is very important in Mexico. Processions and passion plays take place throughout the country, with different areas and communities celebrating in varying ways and varying degrees of lavishness. On Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) processions re-enact Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and woven palms are sold outside churches. Celebrations on Maundy Thursday (Jueves Santo) include visiting seven churches to recall the vigil the apostles kept in the garden while Jesus prayed before his arrest. There are foot-washing ceremonies, and of course Mass with Holy Communion. On Good Friday (Viernes Santo) there are solemn religious processions in which statues of Christ and Mary are carried through towns. People often dress in costumes to evoke the time of Jesus. Passion plays are presented in many communities. The largest is south of Mexico City, where over a million gather. Some places burn an effigy of Judas on Holy Saturday. There are no Easter Bunnies or chocolate eggs in Mexico. People go to church and families celebrate quietly.

Last week veteran newspaper journalist Miroslava Breach was shot eight times in front of her youngest son, in the Sierra Tarahumara region. She is the second journalist murdered in a week, and the third this month. The region is rich in precious minerals and old growth forests. It also has ample and hard-to-reach fertile land, ideal for growing illicit crops. Cartel-linked paramilitaries have for years carried out terrifying displacement campaigns against the indigenous Tarahumara residents. In January, gunmen killed the area’s most high-profile indigenous land rights defender, Goldman Prize-winner Isidro Baldenegro. One of Breach’s last reports was about the discovery of mass grave sites that were probably were used to hide the bodies of kidnapping victims and disappeared persons. Without her reporting, the region might become another journalism no-go ‘silence zone’ in Mexico’s media landscape.

Since 1967 the Huichol people of Mexico have had the New Testament and indigenous churches have sprung up. In 2006, Huichol believers cried out for the Old Testament saying, ‘We are willing to do the work.’ Praise God for nine mother-tongue translators who are now refining and improving the Old Testament through the final consultant checking phase. Ask God to fill them all with energy, wisdom and perseverance. Rejoice that many new believers are being baptised and new local churches are being established. In Burkina Faso two New Testament projects are being run simultaneously. Praise God for a positive reception last year to the publication of the Gospel of Luke, chapters 1-12. The communities want more! They are raising funds to publish the remaining twelve chapters. Pray for them to quickly reach their goal. The New Testament books are now in draft form, and translation teams need consultants and finances to be able to check the books for accuracy and clarity.