We previously reported the good news that an agreement was reached in Hidalgo State, which should have allowed over 150 Protestant Christians to return home. However, what once seemed like the turning of a new page has sadly taken a step backwards.
The Protestant Christians – a minority in their community – were displaced from the villages of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo in April 2024. This was after an escalation in discrimination and violence made it impossible to stay.
For over 150 days, the group stayed in a sports complex with no access to clean drinking water and with scarce food. Perhaps the government were hoping they would move on, but they persistently and courageously spoke out about the long history of injustice they have experienced, pressing the government to intervene.
Eventually, after five months of prayer and advocacy, an agreement was reached between both parties.
We were watching to ensure that the local authorities would follow through with their promise to respect freedom of religion or belief for all. But the authorities (all Roman Catholic) have so far failed to honour the agreement.
They attempted to impose severe restrictions on the religious minority group once again. For example, although the Protestants wouldn’t be forced to participate in Roman Catholic events, those who returned to the villages would be obliged to contribute financially to the local Roman Catholic church. They also wouldn’t be able to speak about their beliefs at all, nor access government benefits relating to health and education.
A ban on any additional conversions away from Roman Catholicism was also put in place. Instead of returning home as planned, the Protestant Christians have relocated to the neighbouring state of Veracruz – something which was entirely preventable.
The group are living under tarps while they await government aid. Even amid this latest disappointment, we choose to give thanks for the progress we have seen so far. It’s a breakthrough that an agreement was reached in the first place, and with your help we can continue advocating for these families for as long as it takes.
What has our advocacy looked like so far?
Our advocacy was a coordinated response on every level.
We were the only organisation carrying out local, state, national and international advocacy on the case, including at the United Nations and the United States. Meanwhile, our team in the UK and in the Americas wrote articles and gave interviews to raise media attention. All of this helped keep a spotlight on the case, even when there seemed to be no developments.
Thanks to your support, our team members in Mexico could literally stand alongside these displaced Christians. Pablo (National Director, Impulso18) travelled to and from the area, staying in frequent contact with representatives of the families, as well as liaising with government officials.
Some government authorities were claiming that this was merely a conflict within the community, with no religious element. We knew this wasn’t true, and we had nearly a decade’s worth of documentation to prove it. Our body of evidence is extensive – dating back to our first meeting with the community in 2015 – and this helped enormously to prove that the Protestants were being targeted because of their religious beliefs.
Encouragingly, after we held journalist training sessions in the area, we saw a notable improvement in both quantity and quality of articles about the case. We believe this helped add to the pressure on Mexican authorities.
This is just small insight into our strategic advocacy, fortified by the countless prayers raised by CSW supporters around the world. Now we pray that the new year would bring fresh developments in this case, starting a new chapter of peace and justice in this community. If God has answered our prayers before, we trust that he will do so again.