Román is a fisherman and ecotourism guide working for mangrove conservation and the protection of natural areas. For several years now, he has been subjected to telephone threats and has been dispossessed of his place of work on the beach.
Saúl is a peasant farmer who, since 2022, has represented over 200 families claiming possession of 1452 hectares of forests, lagoons and beaches, of which they were dispossessed at the end of 2023. His role as spokesman in a land dispute, that has pitted the indigenous community against a private company since 1972, has led to harassment, death threats and criminalization.
A coastal region attracting voracious private interests, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec has been marked by attempts to dispossess and criminalize defenders of the environment. Román and Saúl are two examples of resistance to the depredation of their territory. They are among 21 community members convicted of the crime of aggravated dispossession of land against a private agricultural and livestock company.
The judicial harassment of defenders of the right to land and the rights of indigenous peoples in Mexico aims, beyond the silencing of specifically targeted individuals and communities, at the general intimidation of resistance to extractivist projects.
Between May 2021 and May 2024, more than 200 intimidations, threats and physical assaults against defenders of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec were recorded. In December 2024, members of the Chontal el Coyul community denounced the massive felling of native trees on their territory and the extraction of beach materials for the construction of a residential complex on this deforested area. Despite the risks in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for environmentalists, Román and Saúl remain committed to environmental and social justice.
© DR/ Frontline Defenders
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