Baptists In Mexico Remain Displaced Following Failed Agreement
HIDALGO, Mexico — About 150 Baptists forcibly displaced from their homes in Hidalgo, Mexico, since April have sought refuge in a neighboring state after Catholic village leaders reneged on an agreement that would have welcomed the Protestants home.
According to a Nov. 21 report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the members of Great Commission Fundamental Baptist Church began moving to Chalma, Veracruz, after it became clear that the Sept. 27 agreement would not be upheld.
Instead of being granted the religious liberty guaranteed in Mexico’s constitution, the indigenous Baptists in the majority Catholic community would be required to pay financial contributions and fees to the Catholic church and would be banned from speaking about their religious beliefs.
Religious conversions would be banned, travel and communication within their residential villages of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo would be monitored and limited, and the Baptists would be withheld from official residency rolls for a year, barring their access to health, education and government benefits.
Under the agreement, Baptists would have returned home over a period of time and enjoyed religious freedom. Utilities to their homes would have been reconnected, and members of the church would have paid to a beneficial community fund, which they had been blocked from contributing to since 2015. But as village leaders refused to adhere to the terms of the agreement, Baptists told CSW, city and state officials refused to intervene or secure the Baptists’ safety.
Anna Lee Stangl, CSW co-director of advocacy, expressed disappointment at what she called the Mexican government’s neglect at every level to uphold the nation’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion or belief.
The Mexican government “has placed the responsibility to resolve the egregious violation of their fundamental rights on the victims. This group’s resettlement in Veracruz was wholly preventable and, in effect, affirms the criminal actions of village authorities in Coamila and Rancho Nuevo in their insistence that religious minority groups will not be tolerated,” Strangl said in a press release Nov. 21.
“While we welcomed the municipal and state governments’ proactiveness in brokering (the) agreement,” Strangl said, “this means little in the absence of enforcement and accountability measures for village leaders who continue to openly break Mexican law.”
CSW continued to urge the Mexican government to protect religious freedoms for all, including indigenous people, and to prosecute those who criminally violate such freedoms.
Beginning April 26, the indigenous Nahuatl-speaking communities in Hidalgo were forced to flee their homes after village leaders cut off their electricity, vandalized and blocked access to some of their homes and the Great Commission Fundamental Baptist Church, and posted guards at village entry points.
Despite the guarantee of religious freedom in Mexico’s constitution, a dual legal system allows local indigenous communities to govern under the Law on Uses and Customs. The laws, which vary by village and customs, are often exploited against religious minorities, several religious freedom watchdog groups have reported.
The violations have intensified in the villages since 2015, CSW said, with local authorities repeatedly attempting to force the Baptists to participate in Roman Catholic religious festivals. Local authorities have tried to force the church members to monetarily support Catholic events and actively participate in acts of worship.
Protestants in several Hidalgo villages have also faced severe beatings, lack of access to medical care, arbitrary detainment, employment discrimination and confiscation of property. Children of religious minorities have been blocked since 2018 from attending the local school.
Hidalgo has one of the highest numbers of such cases in Mexico, CSW said, and the local government refuses to cite the actions as religious freedom violations.
The U.S. Department of State, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and persecution watchdog Open Doors have all reported that customs and use laws have led to the persecution of religious minorities in Mexico.
Open Doors ranked Mexico as 37 on its list of the 50 countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.
This article has been republished with permission from Baptist Press.
Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.