To the Zapatista Peoples
To the Assemblies of Collectives of Zapatista Autonomous Governments (ACGAZ)
To the National Indigenous Congress
To the Adherents of the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle (National and International)
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion
To the signatories of A Declaration for Life on the five continents.
To human rights organizations and collectives.
To all those who struggle and resist throughout the world.
Joint statement
Thirty years after the San Andrés Accords, the living memory of Indigenous peoples reminds us that the promises made by the Mexican State remain unfulfilled, betrayed, and silenced. Today, amidst the demonstrations for the murder of our comrade Samir Flores, we reaffirm the struggle for life, land, and dignity.
Samir was murdered for defending his community against dispossession and the imposition of deadly megaprojects. His voice joins those of thousands who have fallen on the path of resistance, and his absence calls upon us to amplify our collective strength against a system that prioritizes capital over life and turns Mother Earth into a commodity.
Thirty years later, the San Andrés Accords represent a continued betrayal. The EZLN denounced as early as 2001 that the constitutional reform negated what had been agreed upon: autonomy, self-determination, recognition of Indigenous peoples as subjects of public law, access to lands and territories, and the Commons.
This keeps the doors to dialogue and peace closed, paving the way for the construction of de facto autonomies, which the Zapatistas have built for three decades despite the ongoing counterinsurgency.
Neither the 2019 nor the 2024 reforms respond to the mandate of San Andrés. Fundamental exclusions remain: the right to territory, respect for the Commons, and the full autonomy of Indigenous peoples. The Mexican State’s refusal to recognize full and effective rights that address the historical debt is clear, as an extractivist model persists that denies the lives of Indigenous peoples. In response, we honor and celebrate the three decades of the National Indigenous Congress and the journey of resistance that has resulted in the construction of real autonomies, community organizing, and the defense of memory as a tool for struggle.
We denounce the neoliberal and capitalist model as incompatible with the dignified life of Indigenous peoples. Faced with the imposition of projects of death, today it is vital to defend our territory and build collective horizons where justice, memory, and the Commons are the foundation. Mother Earth is not property or a resource: she is our root, she is life, she is our future.
Today we say:
Samir lives on in the struggle of the people.
The dignity of Indigenous peoples is the seed of the future.
Mother Earth and the Commons are not for sale, they must be defended.
Long live the National Indigenous Congress and the Indigenous Governing Council.
Faced with the system of death, we affirm life, community, and rebellion as paths to emancipation.
Signatories:
Red de Resistencia y Rebeldía Ajmaq
Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Center for Hyman Rights
Espacio de Lucha contra el olvido y la represión. Elcor
Lumaltik-Herriak
Comité de mujeres Chiapas-Kurdistán
Antsetik Ts’unun (autonomous collective of women defenders)
Las Artemisas Collective
Original statement at Frayba, February 20th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.