ARTICLE: SIPAZ – Three Decades of Supportive Presence and Blossoming Hope. Interview with Jorge Santiago

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SIPAZ Activities (From mid-November 2025 to mid-February 2026)

12/03/2026

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND SUPPORT

We visited the San Juan Cancuc prisoners in San Cristobal de Las Casas prison.
We participated in the Peacebuilders’ Meeting, held in the community of Siberia, municipality of Chanal, at the invitation of the Commission for Support of Community Unity and Reconciliation (CORECO).
Pilgrimage of Pueblo Creyente of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, January 2026 © SIPAZ

We attended the quarterly assembly of Believing People of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
We attended a meeting convened by the Pastoral Ministry of Mother Earth of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas, held in the municipality of Huixtan.
We participated in a meeting with representatives of the pastoral zones that are part of the Monitoring Commission of the Congress of Mother Earth, a component of the Social Ministry of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
We participated in activities held as part of the 12^th anniversary of the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory (MODEVITE), in San Juan Cancuc.
We joined the pilgrimage organized by the Diocesan Women’s Coordinating Committee (CODIMUJ), in San Cristobal de Las Casas, as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

We participated in the 7^th Intercultural Meeting for Free and Chosen Mobilities, held in Las Margaritas.
We visited the community of San Francisco Teopisca with our Board of Directors.
We met with members of the Tojolabal Mission in Comitan de Dominguez.
We attended the commemoration of the 28^th anniversary of the Acteal massacre in the municipality of Chenalho.
We attended several sessions of the “Of Pyramids, Histories, Loves, and, of course, Heartbreaks” workshop, convened by the EZLN in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

We attended the press conference in San Cristobal de Las Casas, organized by the collective “Somos Fuego Feminista” (We Are Feminist Fire), where it was denounced that the Prosecutor’s Office has still not delivered justice and has revictimized the complainants in the case of an attempted femicide that occurred in February 2023 in the Don Lauro Mountain area, south of the city.
We participated in the discussion “The Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Chiapas: The Challenges of Their Protection,” convened by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba), at the Law School of the Autonomous University of Chiapas (UNACH), which included the participation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor.
We participated in a meeting with representatives from the pastoral zones that are part of the Monitoring Commission of the Congress of Mother Earth, a component of the Social Ministry of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
We joined the pilgrimage organized by the Faithful of the Diocese of San Cristobal to honor the memory of Samuel Ruiz Garcia, known as Tatic Samuel, on the 15^th anniversary of his death.
We met with members of the Mothers in Resistance collective.

We attended the quarterly assembly of the People of Faith of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
We met with members of the Searching Mothers collective of Chiapas.
We were present at the event held to commemorate the 29^th anniversary of the Melel Xojobal organization.

Pilgrimage of Pueblo Creyente of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, January 2026 © SIPAZ

In January, we participated in a private meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, along with other civil society organizations.
Also in January, we met with members of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Mexico City.

We shared an analysis with teenagers and young adults participating in the Women of Corn (Mujeres de Maiz) collective, who come from various municipalities in the Highlands and North Jungle regions.
We conducted a heart-strengthening workshop with displaced people from the border region, held in Tuxtla Gutierrez.

We presented a paper titled “Paths to Peace in the Context of Latin America and the World” at the Dialectic Space (Espacio Dialéctica) in the j’Tatik Samuel Ruiz Garcia Museum.

We shared an analysis of the current situation with the operational team of the Maya Intercultural Seminar (SIM).
We co-facilitated a workshop with nearly 200 volunteers from the Las Margaritas parish, in collaboration with the organization El Rebozo.

In December, we participated in a Regional Workshop on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders held in Uruguay, organized by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Carolina Foundation.

We attend plenary and committee meetings of the Chiapas Peace Articulation (Slamalil Kinal) at least once a month.
Every two months, we attend operational meetings of the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice (MPPJ).
We held meetings with organizations collaborating on the project entitled “Strengthening the Self-Protection Capacities of Human Rights Organizations and Communities in Chiapas,” which we coordinate together with Voces Mesoamericanas and Huridocs.
As members of the Platform for Peacebuilding in Mexico, we participate in monthly meetings for analysis and reflection based on best practices.
In January, we participated in the meeting of partners of the German volunteer program Welthaus, held in Mexico City.
In January, we participated in a meeting of partners of the Global Platform for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC). – In January, we participated in the follow-up meeting to the Second Conference on Youth, Peace and Security convened by the EEAS.
In February, we participated in the meeting of the Latin American Youth, Peace and Security Coalition, where the organization Dame un Chance (Give Me a Chance) shared its experience in peacebuilding in Panama.