Mexico: Protestants punished with water and electricity cuts

Mexico | 21 October 2017

According to Rastreando la Noticia reporting on 16 August 2017, the Yaltzi Tres Lagunas authorities in Comitan (Chiapas) have cut off water and electricity supplies for at least 18 families belonging to the Protestant churches "Only Christ Saves" and "Source of Peace". The families had refused to help fund the expenses of a Catholic priest visiting the town. Some family members had to flee due to the hostility and death threats. Rossana Ramirez, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "The Mexican government does not seem to have the capacity to be able to deal with such religious conflict in indigenous communities. As a consequence of this, such conflicts often result in the forced displacement of community members. The problem is aggravated by the fact that religious hostility is not an official category of persecution, and therefore the measures taken to combat it are either insufficient or non-existent. According to the World Report on Forced Internal Displacement 2017, Mexico is one of the countries of greatest concern (along with Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and Peru). The causes of internal displacement need to be analyzed thoroughly to ensure that the right to religious freedom is respected for all religious groups."