Conflicts of religious intolerance are escalating in Oaxaca, Mexico, with severe consequences for the local evangelical Christian community.
The crisis, particularly intense in Cerro Cajón, San Juan Lalana, involves forced displacements, human-rights violations, and violence. Recently, the situation worsened when traditionalist Roman Catholics intensified their attacks against evangelicals.
Ten months into this conflict, displaced evangelicals are reported severe persecution to the regional deputy attorney general’s office, including the disappearance of three women. Pastor Hernández García revealed that attackers burned evangelical churches, seized land, stole cattle, and destroyed the homes of 13 Christians. Two pastors who attempted to offer support were stripped, had their phones confiscated, and were threatened with death.
In response, members of the Interdenominational Christian Church (ICIAR) protested in front of the National Palace to demand respect for freedom of worship in the face of acts of violence. ‘Freedom, Freedom’ was the slogan most often heard.
Some could not hold back their tears as they prayed for the welfare of Christians in the region. There were prayers and songs, and banners that read: ‘No to communities that burn temples’; ‘Stop persecution against the Christians of Cerro de Cajón’; ‘No to religious intolerance’; and ‘We expect a prompt response from our government’.
The Confraternity of Pastors of Oaxaca criticized the inadequate response from the Secretary of the State Government (SEGO). Yeraldo Hernández García, regional pastor of the Interdenominational Christian Church, reported ongoing persecution since November 2023, with numerous violations of rights, including the destruction of homes and churches.
Ellelein Kirk, a Consultative Editor for Evangelicals Now and a Mexican journalist, told en: ‘A human-rights lawyer from the region who has documented all these cases since 2008 said that at least 500 people and 50 families are now exiled because of this violence. They have been robbed of their land, threatened, beaten, fined and even had their children banned from schools; all because of the religion they profess.’
