More than 30 Baptist families who were forced from their homes in Mexico’s Hidalgo State in April have been allowed to return home, a human rights organization focused on international freedom of religion reported.
State and municipal authorities brokered an agreement between village officials and displaced members of Great Commission Fundamental Baptist Church, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported.
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About 150 Baptists were forced to leave their homes in the villages of Coamila and Rancho — indigenous Nahuati-speaking communities — on April 26.
Village leaders reportedly cut off electricity, vandalized and blocked access to some homes and the church building, and posted guards at entry points to the village.
The displaced families — including more than 70 infants and children — sought refuge in Huejutla de Reyes, where evangelicals provided them food and water.
The municipal government of Huejutla de los Reyes worked with Hidalgo State Secretary Guillermo Olivares and Religious Affairs Director Margarita Cabrera Román to secure an agreement that ensured the religious freedom rights of the displaced Baptists would be observed, CSW reported.
History of violating religious freedom
Coamila and Rancho have a history of violating the religious freedom of minority faith groups dating back at least to 2015.
The villages are governed under Mexico’s Law of Uses and Customs, which recognizes the right of indigenous communities to maintain their cultural and traditional local governance.
The law stipulates local authorities must govern in line with rights guaranteed in the Mexican constitution and international conventions, but authorities previously did little to protect minority rights in those areas. However, a new municipal administration took office in September, CSW noted.
According to the terms of the brokered agreement, utilities were reconnected to the homes of the previously displaced people, and members of the church agreed to contribute financially to a community fund, which they had been blocked from paying since 2015.
Looking ahead
“The agreement brokered by the Hidalgo State and Huejutla Municipal governments, and agreed to by the Coamila and Rancho Nuevo authorities and the displaced religious minority community, serves as an example of what can be achieved, in terms of protecting freedom of religion or belief and upholding Mexican law, when there is political will and an investment of time and other resources on the part of the government,” said Anna Lee Stangl, head of advocacy for CSW.
“The process of return and reintegration will take time, and we will be watching to ensure that the local authorities follow through with their promise to respect freedom of religion or belief.
“We are encouraged by the government’s prioritization of this case, and hope it represents the turning of a new page not just in the history of Huejutla de Reyes and these two communities, but in Mexico as a whole.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Ken Camp and originally published by the Baptist Standard.
