© SIPAZ

The International Service for Peace (SIPAZ) regrets the murder of Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez that occurred on October 20 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas. According to preliminary reports, he was shot four times by unknown persons on a motorcycle while he was heading to the Guadalupe temple, after celebrating mass in the Cuxtitali neighborhood in this same city.

As SIPAZ, we have coincided on multiple occasions with Father Marcelo in recent years, due to his key work in the defense of human rights, land and territory and his pastoral accompaniment in peace and reconciliation processes.

A Tsotsil indigenous man originally from San Andrés Larrainzar, he was ordained in 2002. From various parishes and as vicar of social pastoral work of the diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, his commitment to the most vulnerable was undeniable.

In 2014, the Simojovel parish, where Father Marcelo was the parish priest, began to denounce the increase in drug sales and the presence of criminal groups, which led him to receive death threats. For this reason, from 2015 on wards, he began to receive precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that were still in force to date.

In 2021, in light of what was happening in Pantelhó after the Los Machetes self-defense group came to light, Father Marcelo Pérez, with the endorsement of the Diocese of San Cristóbal, was part of an intermediation commission. On July 19, 2021, the arrest and subsequent disappearance of 19 people accused of being part of the “Los Herrera” group took place. Relatives of the missing accused Father Marcelo of the disappearance of these people, so the Chiapas Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against him. Death threats intensified.

In light of this, the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas decided to transfer him to the city of San Cristóbal, where he was in charge of the Guadalupe parish for the last 2 years. Just last September 13, during the pilgrimage for peace that took place in Tuxtla Gutiérrez with the participation of the three dioceses of Chiapas, he declared to the media that “Chiapas is a powder keg.”

His murder, terrible in itself, is also one more illustration of how violent the context has become in the state.

We call on the corresponding authorities to carry out an exhaustive investigation, to identify and punish those responsible, and to implement effective measures to guarantee the safety and life of those who fight for justice and peace.

SIPAZ – International Service for Peace

Father Marcelo Perez Perez © Instagram pbromarceloperez