Country in focus: Mexico

“The landlord turns off the electricity at night. I couldn’t see her until the morning. And by then it was too late.” Her voice shook as she started to weep quietly. The young mother was telling me about her 18-month-old daughter who died last year, suffocating in the overcrowded conditions the community is forced to live in. The rest of the community looked on, their feelings of helplessness reflected in their faces.

Fear for those left behind

These 40 people had to flee their homes in Yashtinín Village, southern Mexico, in 2012: forced out by local authorities who orchestrated mob violence against them, simply because they objected to the group’s Protestant Christianity. Catholics who tried to intervene on their behalf were also threatened with eviction. When the Protestants were finally expelled, the government housed them in a cramped shelter– where they’re still living today. They haven’t received any regular financial aid, and their water and electricity has been arbitrarily cut off. The terrible conditions resulted in the tragic death of the toddler in 2013. And they’re worried about elderly members of their family who couldn’t leave the village, and are still being threatened.

Waiting years for justice

This is far from an isolated incident – and that’s why we decided we had to expand our work into Mexico. All across the country, religious freedom violations are on the rise. Although it’s a secular state, in many parts of Mexico traditional law takes precedence in practice over the constitution. This happens especially where there are large indigenous populations, and Protestant Christians in particular are often targeted. Many victims have now waited years for justice, only to see their cases ignored or even archived by the officials who should be helping them. On a recent visit to Mexico I met many people and communities who told me their upsetting stories. One group has been evicted from their village twice, and they’re currently living in a building on the grounds of a church. The first eviction happened in 2010 after a Catholic converted to Protestantism, but the Protestants went back when the village authorities guaranteed their religious freedom. But after violence against them escalated again, including sexual attacks and arbitrary detention, they fled once more in 2012. The only real support these communities have received has been from local churches and a local activist group, the COOC, which is extremely overstretched with the ever increasing number of cases.

Help turn our vision into reality

I have a vision of a Mexico, and indeed a Latin America, where the rule of law is upheld, religious freedom is a reality, and the people I meet don’t face violence, detention, displacement or sexual attacks because of their religious beliefs. And to make that vision a reality in Mexico, I need your prayers. We serve a miracle- working, prayer-answering God! He’s turned around seemingly hopeless countries before and he can do it again for Mexico.

Please pray

• Ask God to provide a safe place for the Yashtinín community to be relocated;
• Ask God to change the hearts of local leaders who try to impose one religion on their community and persecute those of other faiths;
• Pray that the government would act to end the culture of impunity, and protect victims;
• Thank God for the work of organisations such as the COOC, and Impulso 18, our partners in Mexico;
• Pray that I’d be able to raise greater awareness in Mexico and the rest of the world regarding the religious freedom violations there, and that this awareness would result in decisive action.