The Digna Ochoa Human Rights Center denounced that Ferrocarriles del Istmo de Tehuantepec (Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railways) and the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure, and Transportation filed a criminal complaint against seven families from Arriaga and Pijijiapan, Chiapas, demanding the transfer of the railway right-of-way, as part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec project.
The organization reported that the complaint was filed with the Attorney General’s Office for the alleged crime of trespassing on national property. It stated that this is “an act of criminalization against a vulnerable civilian population, particularly women,” and maintained that resorting to criminal law to resolve territorial and social conflicts “is an extreme, disproportionate measure, contrary to the principles of the rule of law.”
From its headquarters in Tonalá, a municipality bordering Arriaga and Pijijiapan, the Digna Ochoa Human Rights Center warned that these events “could establish a pattern of criminalizing poverty,” by using the penal system as a mechanism of pressure, intimidation, and displacement. It emphasized that the Mexican State has a constitutional and international obligation to respect and guarantee human rights, and reiterated that forced evictions without due process or prior consultation constitute serious violations.
The organization noted that the case is part of a broader context of the implementation of federal megaprojects, where communities have denounced the lack of prior, free, and informed consultation, as well as the risks of land dispossession and the breakdown of the community fabric. It demanded the immediate cessation of criminal prosecution, a review of the complaints by the Attorney General’s Office, the opening of a dialogue with the affected families, and the suspension of any eviction attempts until adequate legal, social, and humanitarian conditions exist.
Source: desinformemonos
