Mexico: New case of religious intolerance in Oaxaca

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Mexico | 25 April 2016

As reported on 30 March 2016 by the local news outlet Despertar de Oaxaca, Lauro Pƒ©rez Nƒºƒ±ez, a convert to the protestant faith, was ordered to leave his community of Chachalaca, in the district of Santiago Camotlƒ¡n, Oaxaca, for violating - according to the explanation given by the community"s authorities - the custom of professing only one faith as a community. This happened after Lauro had received repeated threats and several arbitrary detentions. According to the town authorities of Chachalca, Protestants usually oppose the "tequio" (which are acts of community service expected from every citizen), refuse to join in community projects and religious activities, and do not help out in social festivities. These are all regarded as antisocial acts that create fragmentation in the community. Dennis Petri, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "The religious intolerance in Mexico, mostly against the protestant minority, is increasing as seen in the family evictions, primarily in indigenous communities, alongside harassment and a high level of legal impunity. The case of Lauro is one of the most recent cases adding to the complex human rights situation in Mexico. Mexico ended 2015 with nearly 10 thousand claims of alleged human right violations, which is an increase of 18 per cent compared to the previous year. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra"ad Al Hussein, emphasized that last October nearly 98 per cent of the cases were still unresolved."