Chihuahua, Chih., March 1, 2021. In 33 trials conducted for the recovery of their territory, the Indigenous People of Bakéachi found justice, a justice that left them with a bitter taste as it cost them several attacks against the defender and lawyer Estela Ángeles Mondragón, which resulted in the still unpunished murder of her partner, lawyer Ernesto Rábago Martínez.

Bakéachi, together with the Civil Association Bowerasa (Making Way), is a national and international reference for the struggle that the Rarámuri Community undertook to recover their territory, to be recognized as owners of their land, invaded by mestizo local leaders and cattle ranchers from the municipalities of Carichí and Nonoava, in the state of Chihuahua.

But his struggle is not over. This March 1 marked the 11th anniversary of the murder of the lawyer, who, a few blocks from the Government Palace, was shot twice while working in Bowerasa’s office.

During this period, officials from three government administrations have made commitments to the Rarámuri Community and their lawyer to seriously advance the investigation to clarify the case, a promise that, to date, is still far from being fulfilled.

The COVID-19 contingency has forced the population to isolate itself, but for the people of Bakéachi, the pandemic they are facing is abandonment, so for yet another year they raise their voices to ask the State: «Where is the justice, who took it, who has it, who stole it, who is it for?

In Ernesto’s case, the violation of due process is clear due to the negligence with which the various authorities that have been involved in the integration of the legal files have conducted themselves from the beginning, as there is no tangible progress in the investigation.

On this eleventh anniversary, we insist that justice is to give to each one what is theirs, that is why we demand, once again, that a serious, exhaustive, informal, impartial and responsible investigation be carried out that culminates with the arrest and punishment of those materially and intellectually responsible for Ernesto’s murder.

Wa’ru matétere ba