Severe violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in are common in many parts of Mexico. They fall into two general categories which sometimes overlap – those perpetrated by organised criminal groups and those which occur in villages governed under the system of uses of customs, which allows for the exercise of traditional law and authority structures in indigenous communities. A failure by the government to ensure that a balance is found between upholding fundamental human rights guaranteed by the constitution and the right to self-determination and cultural integrity can be compounded by social instability stemming from violence associated with organised criminal groups
Types of violations are varied but, in many cases, take place in tandem. They can include the prohibition of holding or participating in religious services, receiving visitors from the same faith community, and publicly expressing one’s beliefs; as well as coerced participation in activities associated with the majority religion and the payment of onerous fines. Civil rights are routinely violated, with the removal of the right to vote and work, refusals to register births, and the denial of the right to burial affecting members of religious minorities. These situations are frequently compounded by the blocking of access to basic services including water and electricity, threats, damage or destruction to property, arbitrary detention, violence and forced displacement.
FoRB violations in Mexico are deeply interconnected with other human rights, particularly in contexts characterised by the marginalisation of indigenous peoples, limited availability of and access to basic services, deficiencies in access to justice, insecurity, agrarian conflicts, conditions of poverty, low understanding of human rights, weak rule of law and high levels of impunity. The types of violations listed above, for example, create obstacles to both paid and unpaid work, giving rise to conditions of vulnerability and social marginalisation that place members of religious minorities at risk.
CSW has documented more than 130 cases of serious FoRB violations in recent years in several states. In Oaxaca State alone over the past three years the state government has recognised more than 60 cases of FoRB violations. In 2022 the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) released a report based on the National Survey on Discrimination (ENADIS) recognising that three out of 10 people who are not Roman Catholic or atheist and who profess other religions face prejudice, discriminatory practices and barriers of exclusion in various areas of the exercise of their rights. This means that more than three million people belonging to a religious minority in Mexico suffer discrimination to some extent. Despite these high statistics, there are no federal programmes to raise awareness and improve understanding of FoRB.
FoRB violations are frequently inadequately addressed or ignored by both state and federal authorities. Contributing factors include high levels of impunity more widely in Mexico alongside a failure by the authorities at every level to prioritise the protection of FoRB as a fundamental right, and, in many parts of the country, a low understanding among government officials of the right to FoRB and associated rights. The government frequently fails to investigate or follow-up on cases, or to take effective action to protect victims.
Victims and witnesses, in turn, are not incentivised to report violations because not only are the unlikely to receive support from the government, the act of reporting an incident could raise tensions even further potentially leading to even more severe actions targeting the victims. Low levels of reporting feed into the cycle as the visibility of this issue and institutional interest in addressing it are both reduced. In this context, and in the absence of a culture that aims proactively to prevent FoRB violations, government intervention tends to be triggered only when the radicalisation of community leadership results in episodes of violence and forced displacement. Even in such extreme cases, the government response is often lacking, and victims find it difficult or impossible to seek legal redress.
Despite a government discourse that, at least in the public sphere, claims to promote respect for human rights, including FoRB, in practice the authorities at every level remain unwilling or unable to ensure the effective protection of individuals at risk of being affected by these violations.
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