Hundreds gathered on Monday to mourn the death of Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for indigenous peoples and farm workers who was killed in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
It was a killing that many said was a tragedy that was foreseen, in a country where drug cartels have driven thousands from their homes.
Mourners gathered in San Andres Larrainzar, near the town of San Cristobal de las Casas, where Pérez was killed on Sunday.
Pérez, a leading activist for peace in a country torn by violence, hails from San Andrés Larrainzar. Masses in his honor Monday were held in Spanish and Tzotzil, the indigenous language spoken.
Pérez, 50, often receives threats, but continues to work as a peace activist. Human rights advocates say Pérez does not receive the government protection he needs.
“For many years, we have insisted that the Mexican government must deal with threats and aggression against them, but it has never taken measures to guarantee life, security and well-being,” wrote the Center for human rights Fray Bartolome de las Casas.
The state attorney’s office said Pérez was shot dead by two gunmen while he was in his van, after he had finished celebrating Mass.
“Father Marcelo left … the parish after officiating mass and was going to the Church of Guadalupe, when two men on a motorcycle opened fire,” the office said.
While there is no immediate information about the killer – President Claudia Sheinbaum only to say that “an investigation is underway” – Pastor Pérez’s peace and mediation efforts may have angered one of the two drug cartels currently fighting for control of Chiapas.
The country is a profitable route for drug and migrant smuggling.
“Mr. Marcelo Pérez is the subject of constant threats and aggression on the part of organized crime groups,” according to the rights center, adding that his killing “occurred in the context of a serious escalation of violence against the community in all regions. Chiapas.”
“Reflections of all countries”
At least two years ago, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have been involved in a bloody turf war that involved killing entire families, and forcing the village to take sides in the dispute. Hundreds of Chiapas residents had to flee to neighboring Guatemala for their own safety.
“They have to find an intelligent way to disarm these groups,” said Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, who once served as a bishop in the region. “They shouldn’t wait for people to file complaints, and people will file complaints because their lives are at risk.”
Along with drug violence continues in the country north of Sinaloaand the army killing of six migrants earlier this month, killing Pérez is another embarrassment for the government.
Sheinbaum took office October 1 and promised to follow the policies of his predecessor and mentor, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to avoid confronting drug cartels. These policies have failed to significantly reduce violence.
“This is a reflection of the whole country,” Cardinal Arizmendi said after the mass for Pérez. “He shouldn’t say everything is fine in Mexico. Please.” he continued. “This strategy has not worked.”
He served in the community for twenty years and is known as a negotiator in conflicts in the mountainous region of Chiapas where crime, violence and land disputes abound. Pérez also led several anti-violence marches, which resulted in several death threats.
The UN Human Rights Office said Pérez was the seventh human rights activist killed in Mexico so far in 2024.
In 2022, two Jesuit priests were killed in a church in a remote mountain community in northern Mexico, In 2016, three priests were killed in just one week in Mexico.