Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, emeritus bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article entitled “A people tired of extortion.”
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LOOK
On Friday, December 8, a criminal group, which claims to be from the Michoacan Family and always carries heavy weapons, summoned the farmers of Texcapilla and neighboring communities, very close to my hometown, in the municipality of Texcaltitlán, to demand a high amount of money for their plantings of beans, peas, oats, corn. The people told them that they could not pay that new quota, because their harvests do not yield enough.
Faced with the intransigence of the criminal group, the farmers took courage, with no more weapons than machetes, hoes, sticks, and some old shotguns, and attacked them, killing the entire group, including their leader, alias “the Clown.” They say that he was finally killed by a woman, with only a knife in her hand.
By the way, in a circumstantial way, I had spoken with this leader, as well as with the leader of the group that dominates my town, exhorting them to a change of life, but for them, the money they demand from the farmers is more important than other values of the Christian faith, even though they declare themselves to be Catholic. Their god is money. Here the problem is not so much drug trafficking and consumption, but extortion or protection money to everyone who works at something.
After a few hours, the army, the state police, and the national guard arrived to protect the place, but the vast majority of the town has fled to other places, for fear of reprisals from the criminal group, which has immediately disappeared some members of those communities. Peace was lost. The patron saint’s feast to the Virgin of Guadalupe was canceled. The parish priest, who is the same as the one from my native parish, went to celebrate the usual Sunday Mass, and found no one. He went to visit and console several families, and found several houses closed and others abandoned. I passed by that place and saw a lot of police, but the families have fled the place.
The people felt abandoned by the authorities. Tired of so much extortion, they felt the need to take justice into their own hands. We do not approve of this reaction, but that is what the federal authorities are leading to, by leaving the poor farmers defenseless.
In various ways, the bishops have gone to the federal and state authorities to make them aware of the uncontrolled crime of extortion, because everyone is charged for what they do and work. And if someone does not pay them what they demand, they are exposed to all kinds of reprisals, including kidnapping and murder.
Our authorities presume that they have managed to reduce crime rates in the country, and that is good, but we have other data that they refuse to take into account. They send police and army to our towns from time to time, but, as I was telling someone from the national guard, while the army is present, everything is calm; but as soon as it withdraws, they reappear and continue to do their arbitrary acts. The people feel unprotected.
The authorities ask people to report specific cases, so that they can proceed legally, but we have insisted on the fact that no one dares to report these extortions, because they are exposed to losing their lives.
The government should implement, in addition to what it does in these cases, a system of investigative intelligence, with modern technological means, to have in flagrante evidence of this crime of extortion, because those armed groups have their “hawks” who warn them when the army is coming, and it gives them time to hide; that is why, when the soldiers pass, they find no one.
We need to change the strategy, although the federal government has decided to continue with its same system, which has proven to be insufficient and failed. Meanwhile, the general population, also the poor, continue to be exposed to the abuses of criminal groups. And to think that many people want the next, or the next president of the country, to continue in the same line! Only for the social support they give them!
DISCERNING
The Mexican Episcopate, on November 16, 2023, at the end of its ordinary assembly, issued a statement saying: “Our communities in Mexico continue to suffer from insecurity and violence that are growing exponentially in many areas of our country. And it is not just about statistics, but about the faces and hearts of real people who suffer the consequences of extreme violence, impunity, the disappearance of their loved ones, extortion, forced migration, and failed security strategies… We must continue to seek operational ways to build a culture of peace.”
On June 23, 2022, we expressed our “deep concern for the growing violence that our beloved Country is suffering and with great sadness for the loss of thousands of innocent lives that fill entire families with mourning. Crime has spread everywhere, disrupting the daily lives of all of society, affecting productive activities in cities and in the countryside, exerting pressure with extortion on those who work honestly in markets, schools, small, medium, and large businesses; they have taken over the streets, neighborhoods, and entire towns, in addition to roads, highways, and freeways, and, most seriously, have reached levels of inhuman cruelty in executions and massacres that have made our country one of the most insecure and violent places in the world.
We recognize that as a Church we have not done enough in the evangelization of the peoples and that it is necessary to redouble our efforts. Much remains to be done in the reconstruction of the social fabric, from our own pastoral work. We call on all the people of God, especially priests, religious, catechists, evangelizers, and other pastoral agents, to join in the work of making concrete the peace project of Christ.
We want to join the thousands of voices of people of good will who are asking for an end to this situation. Enough is enough! We cannot be indifferent or oblivious to what is affecting us all.
In view of the gravity of the facts, we call on the Federal Government and the different levels of authorities: it is time to review the security strategies that are failing. It is time to listen to the citizenry, to the voices of thousands of relatives of victims, of the murdered and disappeared, to the police forces abused by crime. We believe that it is not useful to deny reality and neither to blame past times for what we have to solve now. Listening to each other does not make anyone weak, on the contrary, it strengthens us as a Nation.
We are all Mexicans, we all need to live in peace and harmony. It is the responsibility of the rulers to apply the law with justice to eradicate impunity, respecting human rights, but seeking the security of citizens and social peace. As Mexican bishops in unity with the People of Mexico of which we are also a part, we make a respectful call to our political authorities to convene a national dialogue to undertake intelligent and comprehensive actions with the aim of achieving peace through joint participation. We believe that peace is possible, that it has to be possible. In this task all citizens of good will can be allies. Let’s not miss this opportunity!”
In the same vein, we expressed ourselves on November 14, 2019: “Another of our concerns is the escalation of violence in large regions of our Mexico. This violence has caused more poverty, abandonment, and insecurity. It breaks our hearts to see the multiple murders, kidnappings, and extortions, which remain unpunished. The rule of law is thus weakened, and that increases corruption and drives away peace. Only by working together can we resolve these situations: as a Church we must strengthen not only the knowledge of doctrine, but also the living of Christian values, because many of those who dedicate themselves to crime are part of our community; the State must ensure the security of citizens, offering dignified, safe, and well-remunerated conditions to the forces of order; and it is up to all citizens to take care of each other.”
But these messages say nothing to the federal authorities. We live with the people, and we speak of what the people suffer. We are not thinking about future elections, but about concrete facts.
ACT
From the family, let us educate ourselves in respect for the rights of others and, above all, in the love of God and our neighbors, for that is what we are playing for, peace, present and future life.
