Call for Agitation for the Absolute Freedom of Miguel Peralta and the Community of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón

From It's Going Down

Communique from the support group of Miguel Peralta calling for solidarity actions and agitation during the months of September- November of this year. 

To the Independent Media

To the Anarchist and Autonomous Individuals, Collectives, and Movements

To the Art Collectives and Different Artistic Expressions

For more than ten years, the situation in the community of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, in the Sierra Mazateca de Oaxaca, Mexico, has drawn the attention of those who believe in the autonomy of Indigenous communities and the defense of territory as something legitimate and necessary.

For more than a decade we have witnessed the tireless struggle of the Mazatec people against local power holders—caciques and officials of the governmental apparatus—who have not ceased in their assault on the community and theft of the natural resources. Within this struggle, our compañero Miguel Peralta—Mazatec anarchist and community organizer—has been one of the many community members who has faced stiff state repression. He was imprisoned in Cuicatlán, Oaxaca, for nearly five years and is currently being persecuted by the state, separated from his family, his territory, and his community.

Although Miguel Peralta is not the only case of political persecution in the community, his legal defense and judicial process have taken a different pathway than the rest of the persecuted companerxs. Today, we are at a critical moment in the struggle for the absolute freedom of Miguel Peralta. After his case was taken up by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in 2023—with the possibility of ending once and for all the political persecution against him and ordering his absolute freedom—in November 2024 the Supreme Court emitted a resolution returning the case to the collegiate court in Oaxaca. This ruling was limited to vague recommendations made to the collegiate court in Oaxaca, ordering them to “review the case from an intercultural perspective taking into account the cultural specificities of the Mazatec community of Eloxochitlán,” and to study whether the rights of self-determination and autonomy were respected throughout the legal process.

This order of course comes from authorities who are part of the same structure of power, passing on the responsibility to other authorities, leading us to believe that while it is true that the intercultural perspective was ignored throughout this case, taking it into account does not guarantee that this time it will result in a favorable decision for our compañero Miguel Peralta.

A serious study of the case file would undoubtedly result in the absolute freedom of Miguel Peralta. However, we know the political power of those responsible for the persecution and criminalization in Eloxochitlán: the cacique-political party family of Zepeda, specifically the head cacique and ex-municipal president, Manuel Zepeda Cortes, and his daughter, Elisa Zepeda Lagunas, who is currently a member of the state congress in Oaxaca for the political party MORENA. We know the influence that Elisa Zepeda has in the courts and tribunals. We know the relations that she maintains with the governor of the state of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara, with the president of the republic, Claudia Sheinbaum, and now even with the new president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Hugo Aguilar Ortiz. We know that, regardless of the political party in power and the discourse they maintain, the state constantly seeks to repress the self-determination of Indigenous communities.

In addition to the case of Miguel Peralta, there are active arrest warrants for more than 50 members of the community of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, among them Martha Betanzos and Martin Peralta (mother and brother of Miguel). All of these orders have been perpetrated by the same cacique family and backed up by the nefarious system of justice. It has not been enough for the Zepeda family to hold positions of power and use them to subjugate the community; they want to continue keeping entire families displaced and living in fear of one day being arrested.

In April of this year, David Peralta, the younger brother of Miguel Peralta and a photojournalist in the community, was taking photos of the exploitation and plunder of the natural resources carried out by the Zepeda family business, when he was attacked and threatened by Manuel Zepeda and one of his workers. David was robbed of his photography equipment, physically attacked, and accused of being on private property. This is totally false.

For all of the above, we call on everyone to show their solidarity and participate in these months of agitation for the absolute freedom of Miguel Peralta. We encourage people to carry out activities between the months of September and November of this year 2025, including agitation and action in its various forms and modalities, using whatever imagination and tools we have at our disposal: drawings, poems, music, banners, graphics, dance, letters, events, and actions. We also invite folks to be attentive to coming actions, and to disseminate information about the case by all means possible. It is a crucial moment for the state to once and for all order the absolute freedom of Miguel Peralta so that he can return to walk the streets, pathways, mountains, canyons, and coffee fields of his community.

End the political persecution against Indigenous people!

Absolute freedom for Miguel Peralta!

Freedom and justice for Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón!

Neither condemned, nor persecuted!

 

Support Group in Solidarity with Miguel Peralta

Friends of Miguel Peralta and People in Solidarity with the Community of Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón

 

Share your proposals and/or actions at:

Email: yalibreselox@riseup.net

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