The annual meeting of the Platform for Peacebuilding in Mexico took place in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico, from 6-10 November 2024. This association brings together some thirty Mexican and international organizations working for peacebuilding in Mexico. ICIP has been a member of the Platform since its inception, and its participation is included in the thematic work area “Violence in non-war settings,” and, more specifically, in the work on Mexico initiated in 2018.
The Platform is a space for the exchange of knowledge and experiences in order to formulate a shared diagnosis of the serious and complex situation of violence in the country and to propose possible responses from a peacebuilding perspective. In fact, the analysis session was the most important point on the meeting’s agenda. Local perspectives (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Mexico City and Chihuahua) converged with national, Latin American, European and global perspectives. There was also a bilateral analysis (US-Mexico), coinciding precisely with the week in which Donald Trump won the US elections.
Based on the context analyses and a profound strategic reflection on the capacities and opportunities for peace in Mexico, the Platform has defined its internal work plan for 2025. The meeting also provided an opportunity to strengthen the links between the participating peace organizations, which often have to face – sometimes firsthand – the onslaught of criminal violence, delegitimization by local and federal authorities, and international neglect. After all, Mexico is a democracy, is ranked twelfth among world economies, and is not formally at war.
An important feature of this year’s meeting is that it was programmed to coincide with a gathering of young activists from across the country, thus fostering an intergenerational dialogue that not only allowed the group of young people to become familiar with the solid historical track record of Mexican peace initiatives, but also enriched the Platform’s discussions with perspectives that have not been addressed in great depth until now. The concerns the young people brought to the table include issues related to domestic violence, sexual and reproductive rights, limited future prospects, and mental health.
While acknowledging the legacy of their ancestors and the valuable work of elder members in their respective communities, the group of young people also pointed to the fact that they often feel that, both in their immediate surroundings as well as in social movements, dynamics are still too adult-centered and their perspectives, concerns and methods are often not taken into account. Dialogues such as the one that took place these days in Sierra Norte have made it possible to advance towards a more comprehensive vision of peace and to build bridges between various generations of peace activists who do not always coincide in spaces of reflection and action.
During the gathering, participants demanded justice for Father Marcelo, a human rights activist and peacebuilder who was murdered on 20 October in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. They also demanded that the Ayuuk indigenous human rights defender Sandra Domínguez Martínez, from Oaxaca, and missing since 4 October after receiving numerous threats because of her activism, be found alive.
