Four years after their homes and church were destroyed, an entire Protestant Christian community in Mexico has been unable to return to the village they were forced to flee. In January 2014 they made a public appeal to the government to relocate them, having finally given up all hope of ever being able to go back home.
No one has been prosecuted for the destruction of the Protestants’ church and homes in Los Llanos, Chiapas State, and the community has still not been relocated to a safe place. As we document these cases and offer advocacy support to the victims, we’re also working to hold the Mexican government accountable to the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.
Protestants given ultimatum to leave their homes
In late April 2009 a mob attacked the Protestant church in the village of Los Llanos during a prayer service, and beat the church leader. One month later the same church was attacked again and completely destroyed.
In September that year, the local authorities wrote to the governor of Chiapas State stating that they had given the Protestants an ultimatum: if they did not leave the village before the beginning of October, the local authorities would use force to expel them. October came and went, but the following January the local authorities informed the Protestants that they were no longer permitted to attend village assemblies, and that they were prohibited from cultivating their crops.
Violent attacks then resulted in the complete destruction of 13 homes belonging to members of the church, leaving the whole Protestant community of 31 people homeless. They were forced to flee their village.
Abuses include children being excluded from school
Sadly, Los Llanos is not an isolated case. Although the Mexican constitution guarantees freedom of religion or belief to all its citizens, some areas of the country see regular religious freedom violations – from minority faith children being excluded from school, to houses being destroyed, basic utilities being cut off, and violence and death threats.
The government’s reluctance to defend religious freedom proactively is compounded by a law in some parts of the country which gives indigenous communities a degree of independence intended to protect their culture and traditions. The Law of Uses and Customs is meant to be exercised in line with human rights guarantees laid out in the Mexican constitution, but in practice it frequently allows local community beliefs to take precedence over individuals’ human rights.
The National Human Rights Commission investigated the Los Llanos case and found in favour of the victims; yet three years later the government has done nothing to implement the commission’s recommendations. The Mexican government must be held to account for its failure to protect human rights.