August 30, 2024
To the media, social and human rights organizations
To the National Indigenous Congress
To the indigenous peoples of Mexico and the world
And to society at large
We demand the presentation of Sergio Rivera Hernandez alive and hold the Mexican state accountable.
On August 23, 2018, Sergio Rivera Hernandez, defender of water and land, an indigenous Nahua activist, was the victim of enforced disappearance in the Sierra Negra de Puebla. Sergio, a father of a family and mechanic by profession, dedicated his life to the defense of water and the environment, confronting the Coyolapa–Atzalan hydroelectric project, driven by the mining company Autlan, which poses a serious threat to the rivers and ecosystems of the region.
Sergio Rivera Hernandez was not only fighting for his community, but for the right of all indigenous peoples to decide on the use of their lands and natural resources. His disappearance is a tragic example of the systematic violence faced by human rights and environmental defenders in Mexico, where economic interests often prevail over people‘s lives and rights.
Before this situation, we demand:
1. The immediate presentation with life of Sergio Rivera Hernandez. We hold the Mexican State responsible for his disappearance and demand justice in the face of the obvious lack of impartiality and corruption that has allowed his captors to go unpunished. We demand his location and the punishment of those responsible.
2. The effective protection of all human rights and environmental defenders is indispensable to guarantee the safety of those who, like Sergio, risk their lives to protect their territories and resources against the constant harassment and threat of destructive megaprojects throughout the country.
3. The total cessation of the criminalization and repression of social movements that oppose extractive projects. We also demand an immediate end to the war against the Zapatista communities and unfettered respect for the rights of indigenous communities in the face of any threat.
4. The end of impunity in cases of enforced disappearances in Mexico. The Mexican State must comply with its international human rights obligations by investigating and punishing those responsible for these crimes with the full rigor of the law.
Sergio Rivera Hernandez is a victim of the war against indigenous peoples and the economic interests that prevail in our country. We demand justice and the presentation alive of our brother.
Because alive they took him away, alive we want him!
Attention,
Zapatista Indigenous Agrarian Movement
August 30, 2024