Indescribable atrocities, even in a country where acts of violence have become a part of everyday life. But there is also a widespread feeling of indignation, a need to stand up and say ‘enough’, along with many small but visible signs of hope coming from the courageous mothers of the disappeared, from civil society, from the Church, whose National Peace Project is planting seeds of hope throughout the country. In the wake of this recent horrific discovery, Mexico came to a standstill last weekend: a veritable extermination and concentration camp run by organised crime, specifically the powerful Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, was found on the Izaguirre ranch in the municipality of Teuchitlán, Jalisco state, in central Mexico. Evidence was found of individuals imprisoned in dehumanising conditions, with clandestine crematoria used to burn the victims’ bodies. Estimates put the number of people who may have been killed there at approximately 1,500. The Prosecutor’s Office has released a list of items, including T-shirts, backpacks and sneakers, that were found at the ranch and are available for identification by relatives of the disappeared.
The grief of the parish priest. A Day of Peace was held yesterday in Teuchitlán, with a Mass celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Guadalajara (the capital of the state of Jalisco, about 60 kilometres away), Monsignor Engelberto Polino Sánchez. Holy Mass was celebrated also in Mexico City, Guadalajara and many other cities throughout the country, with people taking the streets in marches and demonstrations. Father Jaime Gustavo Navel, parish priest of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Teuchitlán, has been actively engaged. He told SIR: “We devoted an entire day to a set of events, including an information and awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with Caritas, a peace march for the disappeared and to promote respect for the dignity of every human being, followed by a Holy Mass celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop. This is a time of great sorrow and shock. Our hearts are filled with grief as we stand in solidarity with all the victims, their families and all those in the country who are searching for their loved ones who disappeared.” He makes no secret of the fact that the community of Teuchitlán was in the eye of the storm. How is it possible that no one noticed anything? How could an extermination camp have sprung up out of nowhere, with hundreds of people imprisoned on a ranch just seven kilometres from the village? Local Caritas workers told SIR that, as in many other areas of the country, there is a climate of fear and absolute silence. Despite this, the parish priest claims that until a few months ago, no one in the village knew anything about the compound. Last September the police raided the ranch, but at the time it was described as a training facility. This caused widespread concern, the local population was frightened and worried. But there was no mention of an extermination camp. This latest news only emerged on Ash Wednesday. We are shocked and saddened by the savage killings and the sacrifice of so many of our brothers and sisters”. As for the flow of vehicles to the ranch, the priest replied that it was the same road that leads to a nearby rehabilitation centre, so the traffic caused no concern.
Clandestine graves discovered every two days. It makes little sense to blame the small community, a significant number of whom have made their voices heard in recent days. Obviously, the press coverage over the last few days stressed the oddity of this extremely serious incident, discovered only six months after the camp had been raided by the police. This bizarre circumstance suggests that there may be other cases of unpunished crimes and cover-ups. How was this even possible? Could the extermination site be just the tip of the iceberg of a greater issue? SIR discussed this question with two peace activists in the state of Jalisco, as part of the National Dialogue for Peace (NDP) initiative launched two years ago by the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, the Society of Jesus, the Conference of Religious and the Pastoral of the Laity. Father Miguel González, a priest devoted to social pastoral work in the diocese of San Juan de los Lagos and coordinator of the NDP in Jalisco, said: “We owe this discovery, like many others, to the courage and unwavering commitment of the ‘madres buscadoras’, mothers searching for their missing children. This is happening in a climate where violence is normalised. In many areas of Jalisco – one of the five most violent states in Mexico, and the one with the highest number of desaparecidos – violence has become a structural part of society.”
The number of missing people is one of the scourges afflicting of Mexico. In a statement issued last week and previously published by SIR, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference deplored the fact that the government has drawn attention to a 15% reduction in homicides, while ignoring a 40% increase in the number of missing persons, most of them young people. This figure has been questioned by the President of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum, although it has been confirmed by various media. In any case, the number of missing people is constantly increasing and is estimated by almost all investigative bodies to be over 120,000. The figures are staggering, confirms Janet Moreno, who works with the DNP and Caritas in Guadalajara: “A new grave is discovered every two days in Mexico. More than 123,000 people are now reported missing. The state of Jalisco tops the list with 15,500 disappearances. 65% of the ‘desaparecidos’ are between 15 and 30 years old.” As mentioned, this is happening in a context of widespread violence, as confirmed by other data provided by Father González on Jalisco: “71% of women over the age of 15 have suffered some form of violence, 45% in the last year.” What is surprising, continues Moreno, “is that such a high level of violence exists in one of the regions with the most deeply rooted religious traditions in the country.”
Visible signs of hope. Despite everything, our interviewees are comforted by the many signs of hope, by the swift and visible implementation of the peace project that the Mexican Church has launched throughout the country. The first efforts – says Father González – date back some twenty years and involved contacts with the Colombian Church to learn more about peace and reconciliation strategies. This process gained momentum in 2022 with the launch of the National Dialogue for Peace platform. The recent joint mobilisation concerning the Teuchitlán case is extremely important and significant”. An incentive for the Church, together with various civil society organisations, to pursue this commitment, which consists of a series of initiatives at local level to support the victims and the ‘buscadora’ mothers, and to provide training and support for those who are actively and continuously working for peace.
