Mexico: Prevalence of illegal occupation of rural land in Oaxaca state and how authorities assist legal owners to repossess it (1999-2002)

An article of August 2001 reported the blockade of a highway by about 1,000 indigenous Zoque residents of Santa Maria Chimalapas in Oaxaca to protest "what they said was a failure by the state and federal governments to resolve their 35-year old land conflict with residents of the Cuauhtemoc neighborhood" (Weekly News Update on the Americas 5 Aug. 2001). In their effort to ensure government action, the Zoque group from Chimalapas had been "holding" six residents from Cuauhtemoc since early July 2001, refusing release them until the land conflict was resolved (ibid.). No further information about this incident could be found due to time constraints.

Recently, sources indicated that some 360 to 660 territorial disputes have been reported in the state of Oaxaca (AP 5 June 2002; ibid. 9 June 2002; DPA 6 June 2002; Mexico Barbaro 21-27 July 2002). Of this total, 30 to 53 of these "agrarian conflicts" are considered "'extremely dangerous'" (ibid.; AP 5 June 2002). For example, in what has been described as a "Balkan-style bloodletting" over a land dispute, 26 Zapotec Indian men were killed in a 31 May 2002 ambush near their village of Xochiltepec (Latin American Weekly Report 4 June 2002; Christian Science Monitor 4 June 2002). It appears that the massacre was the result of a land dispute between the communities of Santiago Xochiltepec and Santo Domingo Teojomulco over a "25,000-acre belt of wood and farmland" that divides the two villages (ibid.). It reportedly took state police "a day to reach the crime scene from the capital 300 kilometers away--they explained that they had no money for gas" (Mexico Barbaro 21-27 July 2002). Subsequent police investigations have led to the arrests of 17 suspects allegedly involved in the massacre; however, a human rights group in the region has accused authorities of "rounding up scapegoats," and conducting a "'witch hunt'" (AP 3 June 2002). With regard to the likelihood of state protection:

... villagers here are skeptical that justice will be done, saying they had filed legal complaints after past incidents, and recently requested state protection after receiving threats of an imminent attack. The Sierra Sur [Xochiltepec] massacre shows what little reach and influence Mexico's often inefficient and corrupt justice system has in the highlands [of Oaxaca] (Christian Science Monitor 4 June 2002).

Shortly after the Xochiltepec massacre, AP reported the murder of three peasants "by their relatives in a bitter family dispute over a small plot of land" in Tierra Blanca, Oaxaca (9 June 2002). Apparently, the farmer, Juan Gaytan Guzman, and his two grown children were attacked by his brother, Felix, and Felix's family after an "intense argument" about a piece of land "both brothers claimed as their own" (AP 9 June 2002).

In an EFE report of 7 July 2002, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights for indigenous peoples stated that, in light of the recent massacre at Xochiltepec, "'it is possible that there may be more killings, more conflicts, if sufficient measures are not taken to resolve border and land disputes in the communities'" of southern states such as Oaxaca. Moreover, the UN official declared that the apathy of both state and federal authorities to agrarian problems has "aggravated the situation in many communities that have now become time bombs" (EFE 7 July 2002).

For more information about the illegal occupation of rural land in Oaxaca state, please refer to MEX34911.E of 2 August 2000 about the white guard (guardias blancas), MEX3844.E of 10 April 2002 about reports of violent land disputes around Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca state, and MEX39657.E of 11 October 2002 about the activities of the General Rural Workers and Popular Union (Union General Obrera Campesina y Popular, UGOCEP) in Oaxaca.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Associated Press (AP) Worldstream. 9 June 2002. "Three Peasants Killed in Family Land Dispute in Southern Mexico." (NEXIS)

____. 5 June 2002. Jo Tuckman. "Residents and Activists Fear More Violence Following Mexican Massacre." (NEXIS)

____. 3 June 2002. Johanna Tuckman. "Human Rights Groups Accuse Authorities of Witch Hunt in Mexican Massacre." (NEXIS)

Christian Science Monitor. 4 June 2002. Gretchen Peters. "Mexico's Deadly Fight over Land." (NEXIS)

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 6 June 2002. "News Feature: Peasant Massacre Sheds Light on Unsolved Conflict in South Mexico." (NEXIS)

EFE News Service. 7 July 2002. "Mexico-Chiapas (Scheduled) U.N. Rapporteur Warns of Conflicts that Could Cause New Killings." (Global News Wire/NEXIS).

Latin American Weekly Report. 4 June 2002. "Oaxaca Massacre Highlights Land Issues; 26 Indians Are Murdered by Disgruntled Neighbours." (NEXIS)

Mexico Barbaro [New York]. 21-27 July 2002. No. 319. John Ross. "Indian Massacre: Mass Killings in Oaxaca -- In a Time of Change, Nothing Has Changed." (NEXIS)

[New York]. 5 August 2001. No. 601. "Mexico: Indigenous Block Roads." (Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York/NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

World News Connection (WNC)