CHILPANCINGO (apro).- The Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC) and the Union of Peoples of the State of Guerrero (Upoeg) separately rejected the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) that endorses a consultation of Congress to ignore the community security and justice system.
They warned that they will continue to be governed by that justice system and announced protests.
Five CRAC Houses of Justice on the Costa Chica and Montaña as well as the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center stated in a statement – dated June 8 – their rejection of the ruling issued by the SCJN on June 5.
In the resolution, the SCJN considered that the Congress of Guerrero held a “free, prior, informed, in good faith and culturally appropriate” consultation in May of last year to endorse a reform to Law 701 on Recognition, Rights and Culture of Indigenous villages.
“The ministers did not take into account the hundreds of minutes drawn up in the indigenous and Afro-Mexican towns and communities that revealed that the State Congress never reported on the indigenous reform or carried out dialogue with the peoples, nor did we participate in the preparation of the consultation protocol .
“Congress workers and paid assistants to deputies traveled to various communities to collect signatures and hold quick meetings without information for the towns. Discussion and thorough analysis of the proposed reform was not allowed”, accused the CRAC.
And he warned local legislators, ministers and governments that they will not be the ones to recognize their rights:
“We will not allow the entry of extractivist companies, we will continue to provide security and justice in our towns without allowing crime in collusion with the government to penetrate our territories.
“Our assemblies will continue to appoint our community governments and we will continue to promote the creation of our indigenous and Afro-Mexican municipalities,” the text indicates.
In 1998, the CRAC established a security and justice system in indigenous communities that appoints its police officers and commanders through town assemblies and authorizes a re-education process for lawbreakers.
This system is based on article 214 of the Political Constitution of the state and on Law 701 on Indigenous Rights and Culture and Afro-Mexican Peoples of 2011.
But in 2018, the local Congress left the CRAC community police out of the legal framework, which led to an unconstitutionality trial promoted through the CNDH before the SCJN.
The Supreme Court ordered the local legislature in April 2021 to reinstate the consultation procedure for native and Afro-Mexican peoples.
The Congress, with a simple majority of Morena, was forced from March to May 2022 to carry out a steam consultation that supports a reform that ignores the indigenous justice system.
In the same context, this Monday in Chilpancingo, representatives of Upoeg also expressed their rejection of the resolution of the SCJN that validated the consultation of the local Congress that led to the “reform” of Law 701.
Accompanied by municipal commissioners, they announced protests to demand a new consultation but with the participation of the towns.
One of the authorities accused that representatives of Congress forced the commissioners to sign minutes or otherwise they would take away the federal government’s social programs.
The Upoeg emerged in 2011 as a split from the CRAC, its proposal established regional development and a security and justice program. The difference with the CRAC is that the Upoeg does not name its police officers and commanders in assemblies for what are known as self-defense groups or citizen police.
