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In southern Mexico, a multi-ethnic network of towns has halted the construction of a mega-dam. Now they are organizing to manage their own natural resources and revitalize their culture as native water protectors. At dawn on March 14—celebrated internationally as the Day of Action against Dams and in Defense of Rivers—Afro-Mexican, Indigenous, and mestizo peoples met on the shores of…

In Oaxaca, the Indigenous community of Magdalena Ocotlán passed a prohibition on mining in its territory, and demanded the cancellation of the Canadian San José mine, which threatens residents' only source of water.   Magdalena Ocotlán, Oaxaca, 10 April, 2019 — On the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata, local authorities of the Zapotec town of Magdalena Ocotlán,…

Twelve days after the murder of Indigenous environmental activist Samir Flores Soberanes, Mexican authorities have neither determined a motive for the crime nor detained any suspects. Flores, an Indigenous Náhautl radio producer and member of the People’s Front in Defense of the Land and Water for the states of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala (FPDTA), died on 20 February 2019, after…

Indigenous Náhuatl land defender and radio producer Samir Flores Soberanes was shot to death early Wednesday morning in the community of Amilcingo in the state of Morelos, Mexico. Flores was an outspoken opponent of a thermal-electric plant and gas pipeline that form part of the Integral Project for Morelos, originally proposed in 2010 but recently promoted by Mexican President Andrés…

  On June 19th, 2016, prolonged tensions due to the Mexican government’s educational reform came to a head in Asunción Nochixtlán, a Mixtec municipality an hour’s drive from Oaxaca City, where at least 8 people were killed and 226 civilian injured during protests. During this incident, the  government of Oaxaca—a southern territory known for Indigenous and popular resistance—once again proved…

On December 10th, communities and civil society organizations gathered in the central plaza of Oaxaca City to present the conclusions and final report of the first Peoples’ Trial against the State and Mining Companies in Oaxaca. This historic tribunal—in which representatives of 52 Indigenous and farming communities judged corporate and government actors for polluting their land and violating their rights—has…

Civil society organization “EDUCA – Una Educación Alternativa A.C.” strongly advises the UN to include the following suggestions in their final recommendations release at the end of the UPR evaluation on Human Rights in Mexico. These suggestions include and consider the current Human Rights situation in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, as it was documented and listed by various civil…