To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)
To the National Indigenous Congress (CNI)
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion
To the Sixth Declaration, National and International
To the Signatories of a Declaration for Life on the Five Continents
To Unsubmissive, Dignified, and Rebellious Europe
To Human Rights Organizations and Collectives
To the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and the World
To Free and Independent Media
To Critical Academia
To Social Organizations, Collectives, and Civil Society
As the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, we publicly denounce the repression against our peoples and communities. The capitalist hydra, with the complicity of the three levels of corrupt government—municipal, state, and federal—continues to plunder our territories.
The events of February 12, 2026, carried out by the State Guard, the Chilón Municipal Police, officials from the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, and the Unitary Agrarian Court against our compañeros from the CNI “Samir Flores Soberanes” Zone 10 Patria Nueva in the community of Jotolá, municipality of Chilón, have resulted in the displacement of eight families and the arrest of two of our members: Francisco Moreno and María de Jesús Sánchez. Their homes were destroyed and their belongings stolen.
Our compañeras and compañeros remain displaced; eight people have arrest warrants issued against them and are facing economic hardship, illness, unemployment, and homelessness. Francisco Moreno remains imprisoned at the Yajalón jail, and María de Jesús is required to report to the bad government every Friday.
As the CNI, we denounce the actions being committed by the corrupt governments against our Tseltal brothers and sisters of the CNI who are organizing at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market, Zone 10 Patria Nueva, in the municipality of Ocosingo.
With the complicity of the corrupt governments, 39 co-owners, have been suffering the dispossession of their workplaces, the destruction of their stalls, the construction of fences to block access to their workplaces, humiliations, threats, violence against our sisters, the kidnapping of our compañeros—including children—and the fabrication of criminal charges before the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Chiapas—acts that we have publicly denounced.
We tell our fellow compañeras and compañeros in the struggle that our brothers and sisters at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market continue to defend the Territory and its Autonomy; they are not for sale to big capital, nor are our existence and the Resistance of our Peoples up for negotiation. We demand an end to this legalized dispossession and any other counterinsurgency actions against our 39 compañeros.
We also denounce the harassment being suffered by 10 Tseltal families from the community of Agua Clara, located in Zone 5 Roberto Barrios, municipality of Salto de Agua, Chiapas—members of the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas. For the past 10 years, our brothers and sisters have been fighting to defend their territory, their autonomy, and their right to self-determination.
We state that with the arrival of megaprojects such as the misnamed “Maya Train,” the threats to our territory have increased. Now, with the construction of the San Cristóbal–Palenque superhighway, they are destroying our hills, cutting down trees, and this has caused droughts; the water levels of our rivers have dropped; and the harvest road that runs through our plots has caused divisions within the community. We were never informed by the ejido authorities—who claim it is for the benefit of the population—when we know it is actually to facilitate tourism.Our compañeros in the CNI are being threatened with dispossession and eviction from the lands they have occupied for years. On June 23, 2026, government supporters threatened that the Pakales Immediate Reaction Forces would enter to evict them from their plots. These repressive actions are carried out with the complicity of the three levels of corrupt governments.
These same acts of territorial dispossession are happening to our comrades who are members of the National Indigenous Congress, Zone 11 Tulankao, in the community of San Francisco, municipality of Teopisca, Chiapas. On March 24 of this year, they were informed by two engineers from the state government that a highway from San Cristóbal to Teopisca would pass through their territory, for which 60 meters of land were needed. The engineers arrived with their tricks and lies, claiming that the other communities had agreed to the project. We publicly state that our brothers and sisters from many communities do not agree to the construction of this highway.
The campesinas and campesinos of San Francisco know that the highway is for the benefit of business owners. As Indigenous Peoples, we know it will only destroy our lands and trees, bring air pollution, and destroy our culture and peace. As Indigenous Peoples, we say NO to this highway project.
As the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, we observe that the war against Indigenous peoples continues; there is no peace—there is dispossession of our workplaces and our territories. The corrupt government uses repression to destroy our organization. Deadly projects continue, such as the San Cristóbal-Palenque superhighway and the San Cristóbal-Teopisca highway. Our compañeros remain in prison, and families have been displaced.
Therefore, WE DEMAND:
A complete end to the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples’ territories.
An end to the attacks on the autonomy of our brothers and sisters in the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas.
The full release of our compañeros María de Jesús Sánchez and Francisco Moreno.
The revocation of the arrest warrants against our compañeros and compañeras.
That the forced displacement of our compañeros and compañeras be addressed.
The immediate and unconditional return of the market stalls to our compañeros and compañeras at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market.
An immediate end to the threats, harassment, and any attempt at eviction against the CNI families of Agua Clara in Zone 5 Roberto Barrios, municipality of Salto de Agua.
A halt to “death projects” such as the San Cristóbal-Palenque superhighway and the San Cristóbal-Teopisca highway.
Respect for our community organization and our right to remain on the land we inhabit.
Our land is not for sale—it is to be loved and defended!!!
Long live the Resistance of the Indigenous Peoples!!!
Truth and Justice—Samir Lives!!!
Long live the National Indigenous Congress!!!
Long live the Zapatista Army of National Liberation!!!
Stop the war against the Zapatista communities!!!
Never again a Mexico without us!!!
To see the press conference at Frayba go to: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JmguuXiMi/
Original text published by Frayba on July 14th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.