A Mexican Protestant pastor was detained and ultimately expelled from his community by his uncle in Oaxaca after he refused to kneel and pray to a Roman Catholic saint during a local festival in mid-January.
Last year, Mariano Velázquez Martínez, pastor of the 25-member Camino Nuevo y Vibo church, was assigned the role of mayor, tasked with organizing and promoting religious ceremonies in the community. This role has traditionally been held by members of Mexico’s main religion, Roman Catholicism.
According to UK-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Martinez reluctantly agreed to take on the role, knowing he would only be asked to provide candles and flowers. However, on January 15, he was reportedly ordered to light a candle and kneel before a statue of St. James the Apostle.
The evangelical pastor refused on religious grounds, explaining that it went against his Protestant beliefs, so another mayor reported Martinez to local authorities, and the Oaxacan pastor was jailed for five days.
After being detained, Martinez was bound with ropes and taken before a gathering of about 180 men, including his uncle and cousins, and forced to sign a vaguely worded document confirming his expulsion from the community. The pastor has not been given a copy of the paper and is concerned that it may be used in the future to suggest that he has voluntarily separated himself from the Santiago Malacatepec community.
Martinez, his wife, and their three-month-old baby have since fled the area and are living with relatives in Oaxaca City.
Pablo Vargas, CSW’s Mexico director, told CBN News that the incident is part of a “culture” and “pattern” of religious persecution against evangelical Christians in Mexico.
“Some people decide not to follow the majority religion and suffer the consequences,” he explained. “Uniformity is more important to a community than the practical rights of people to believe in what they choose.”
Mr. Vargas argued that even if Mr. Martinez sought legal recourse, it would not be safe for him and his family to return to Santiago Malacatepec. In fact, he said that in such cases, the majority of people facing persecution never return to their homelands because local violence against them makes life there too dangerous.
“His life will be in danger,” he said.
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Further complicating Martinez’s case, his uncle and cousin were reportedly responsible for ostracizing Martinez from the community, and the pastor did not want to see violence afflict them or other families in the area. The pastor’s mother and four siblings live in the area.
Nevertheless, there are now calls for legal justice for Martinez.
Porfirio Flores Zuniga, a lawyer representing the Fellowship of Pastors, is calling on the Oaxaca Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of the Oaxaca Government to apply the newly approved eviction law to the case.
The law, passed only last September, criminalizes forced internal displacement as the act of forcing one or more people to leave their homes due to threats to their safety, life or liberty. Individuals found to have forcibly evacuated others without legal basis could face 10 to 18 years in prison, as well as financial penalties.
The law is one of the first in Mexico to legally recognize various causes of forced displacement, including violence, social and political conflicts, conflicts over land and resources, and discrimination.
Local newspaper El Unizal Oaxaca reported that Zuniga had filed a criminal complaint against Santiago Malacatepec executives Melquiades Castro and Andres Letes, accusing them of arbitrary acts and abuse of power against Martinez.
However, authorities have yet to take any serious action against the incident.
Notably, Vargas told CBN News that local government leaders met with state government officials this week and both parties appear to be “positive about reducing community violence to stop the rise.”
“The solution for Pastor Mariano is very complex,” he said.
Please pray for Martinez and his family as they go through this difficult and tragic situation. You can watch the full conversation with Vargas in the video above.
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