Amid violence and protests, Sheinbaum visits the Sierra Tarahumara and restores lands

GUADALUPE Y CALVO, Chih., (apro).- In the midst of strong episodes of violence due to the dispute over territory, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo delivered property titles to part of her territory to the Rarámuri community of Mogótavo in the municipality of Urique and to the Ódami community of Mesa Colorada, municipality of Guadalupe y Calvo, located in the Sierra Tarahumara of the state of Chihuahua.

On Saturday, May 17, Sheinbaum arrived by helicopter to Baborigame, located in the Golden Triangle on the border with the state of Sinaloa, amid a heavy security presence with dozens of Mexican Army units, including tanks and special units; the National Guard; as well as Chihuahua State Public Security and the State Attorney General's Office.

Guadalupe y Calvo has once again become a land of forced displacement due to the struggle between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels, in alliance with the armed wing of the Juárez cartel, La Línea, whose main business currently consists of logging and other types of extractivism.

About five hours from Baborigame, in the town of Guachochi, two other criminal groups clashed in the town center on Thursday night, shooting at homes, setting fire to a vehicle, and terrorizing the entire town.

On Friday the 16th, the telephone and internet signals were cut off. Dozens of people from the federal government and others who were staying in Guachochi on Thursday to travel to Sheinbaum's event the following day witnessed the violent events.

That same day, around 1:00 p.m., the confrontation continued. In this context, the president arrived in the Sierra Tarahumara, where she was greeted with a matachín dance performed by girls from the Tepehuán Children's Home.

At the event held on May 17, the federal executive branch signed the decree endorsing Mesa Colorada, at Rancho Las Agujas, as the owner of 502 hectares of traditional communal property, as it was located on national land.

The other community that received the property title for 317 hectares was Mogótavo, from the Rarámuri people in the municipality of Urique.

This achievement was achieved through the Agrarian Conflict Response Program (PADCA), as at least 12 business owners have purchased the land in sections, despite the fact that the community has inhabited the area for centuries.

This is Claudia Sheinbaum's second presidential visit to the Sierra Tarahumara. The first was in December, when she returned part of its territory to the communities of Bosques San Elías Repechique in the municipalities of Bocoyna and Guasachique in the municipality of Balleza.

In an interview, Mogótavo Governor Luis González Rivas, who received the property title, said it was a small step forward, because the owner who sold her share so the federal government could title it in the name of the Rarámuri community appeared to have done so solely for the money and not to truly recognize the indigenous people who have lived there for decades.

Enrique Parra, second governor of Mogótavo, said the granting of the land titles is a small gain, "after 45 years of struggle, we've achieved what they're going to give us." However, he said, they still need to be recognized for the entire territory they have inhabited, as well as other areas in the Sierra Tarahumara.

José Ángel Rivas Vega, an Ódami lawyer and resident of the Mesa Colorada community, said in an interview: “I still can't believe it, although I know they (the chiefs) won't be satisfied; they'll continue to bother us. Knowing those people who are there, I'm still not that happy. It's great that they're recognizing it, but I think the whole context needs to be addressed because for them (the chiefs), papers don't count; they see us as inferior to the indigenous people.”

He added: “Legally, with the document, other legal strategies can be used to assert our territory. What should happen is that there is no longer impunity. What should happen is a response from the authorities. The community is tired of filing complaints; we reached 18 for dispossession, disappearance, assault, threats, cattle theft, and all kinds of other cases. Many of these files have expired, very few have not. They are from common jurisdiction, and one is from federal jurisdiction for road opening and land use change. No authority has given us or informed us of any results. The State itself is doing this as a strategy to tire us out.”

During the event, a group of displaced women, who have formed the Odótame collective (Odami, Tarahumara, mestiza), delivered a letter to the president, requesting that they be guaranteed basic rights such as housing, food, work, education, and decent healthcare, among others, since the State cannot guarantee their safe returns to their territories due to the increasing violence.

The captain general of the Baborigame community, Carlos Rivas Herrera, welcomed the president, who for the first time had a head of the executive branch visited his land, and called for an end to the ongoing plundering of the Sierra Tarahumara forest.

On behalf of all the indigenous peoples of the Tarahumara, Rivas asked the National Water Commission (Conagua) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to support them with programs for water retention, care, and distribution to our families.

He also called for improved health services in Baborigame and throughout the mountains, with sufficient medication, doctors and nurses who speak their language and respect their customs.

“We reiterate the need for effective coordination between the federal and state governments, with the establishment of a hospital in this town. We ask that primary education be guaranteed in the different languages ​​of the people who live in the mountains. You don't learn if you don't understand what you're teaching,” he added, calling for support for housing, road improvements, and electricity.

These and other requests were the result of a previous meeting of the Justice Plan, in which traditional authorities from the Sierra Tarahumara participated.

The president was accompanied by the heads of the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development, Edna Elena Vega Rangel; the Ministry of Welfare, Ariadna Montiel Reyes; the Director General of the National Institute of Public Works (INPI), Adelfo Regino Montes; the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation, Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina; the Director General of the CFE (Federal Commission for the Promotion of Social Welfare), Emilia Esther Calleja; the Director General of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Zoé Robledo; the Director General of Conagua (Conagua), Efraín Morales Lopez; the Undersecretary of Agrarian Planning and Property Inventories of the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development, Griselda Martínez Vázquez; the Agrarian Attorney General, Víctor Suárez Carrera; the General Coordinator of Welfare Programs, Carlos Torres Rosas; the Director General of the National Agrarian Registry, as well as the Mayor of Guadalupe y Calvo, Ana Laura González Arreola.

Sheinbaum highlighted the step they took with the delivery of property titles and stated that they will continue to deliver them to other communities that have requested them, once their respective processes are completed.

The president also reported that the artisanal roads program began on May 17, with 16 projects for the region and that more will be carried out each year. She also asked Emilia Calleja, director of CFE, and Adelfo Regino, general director of INPI, to address the electrification problems faced by all communities, which is a key demand of the Justice Plan.

“Zoé Robledo, director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), is also coming so that, together with the director of IMSS Bienestar, we can fulfill all the requests you're making regarding access to healthcare. With the agrarian prosecutor and Edna, we will continue to comply with territorial justice. Efraín Morales came to resolve the problem of access to water, and I'm asking him to tell the Secretary of Semarnat (Semarnat) to resolve the restoration of forests throughout the Sierra Tarahumara and this area.”

She reiterated that in addition to the existing Welfare programs, which are now constitutional rights, this year they will implement the Women's Welfare Pension program for women between 60 and 64 years old; the Universal Scholarship for girls and boys attending public schools; and the House-to-House Health program.

Regarding the latter program, Baborigame proposed the creation of nursing schools so that this training would be part of the entire upper secondary education cycle, so that in three years, the community would have nurses from their own village who speak the language.

Our requests for support in the face of violence were ignored: Mayor of Guachochi

While the event was taking place, the mayor of Guachochi, José Miguel Yáñez Ronquillo, released a letter to the president via social media, highlighting the state's situation with regard to criminal groups.

Ronquillo emphasized the importance of this entity for criminal groups due to its centrality. This is why it has carried out preventive work, such as investing in sports, urban development, tourism promotion, and community organization, which has sustained a harmonious coexistence.

He also noted that they have equipped the police, acquired patrol cars, trained security personnel, among other measures. However, the violence continues, referring in particular to the events of the 16th and 17th of this month. Ronquillo reported that his requests for support have gone unheeded.

“President, the fear you may have felt when visiting the Sierra Tarahumara, we feel here every day. The difference is that our families don't have 200 security personnel, helicopters, or low-profile operations at their disposal. And yet, with what little we have, we do so much.”

The council member pointed out the Sheinbaum administration's funding cuts to states and municipalities, "further limiting our ability to act." "The peace of mind of Mexicans cannot and should not be subject to budgetary retaliation," he wrote.

"So, how can we understand the rhetoric that speaks of a reduction in crime rates and a decrease in murders when fear is growing on our streets? Doesn't it seem like a contradiction to say there's peace when institutional support is lacking just when it's most needed?"

Ronquillo concluded his letter with a "sincere call" to implement a "Plan for Tranquility, Peace, and Growth," accompanied by an increase in federal forces, as instructed by Sheinbaum.