March in Guerrero to demand justice for the murder of an opponent of the La Parota project

CHILPANCINGO, Gro. (apro).- Social organizations, students, activists, and human rights defenders marched on Thursday the 8th to demand justice from President Claudia Sheinbaum and Governor Evelyn Salgado for the murder of Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz, opposition leader to the La Parota hydroelectric project.

In Guerrero, 14 social leaders, activists, and students have been murdered in the last 12 years.

In the case of three members of the Iguala Popular Union in 2013, former mayor José Luis Abarca was sentenced for forced disappearance and homicide, reported Abel López Rosas of the Vicente Guerrero peasant organization.

"Murderous government, you killed a peasant!" they shouted in front of the State Attorney General's Office at the end of the march.

Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz, 49, was shot by a lone gunman on the night of April 18, Good Friday, near Icacos Beach, where he was a pawnbroker. He underwent two surgeries and survived for eight days. He died on April 25 due to the severity of his injuries.

He was imprisoned three times by governors René Juárez, Zeferino Torreblanca, and Héctor Astudillo. He was released on all three charges due to lack of evidence.

Wielding machete weapons, a symbol left by Marco Antonio Suástegui in defense of water and land, members of the Council of Ejidos and Communities Opposed to the La Parota Dam (CECOP), from rural Acapulco, marched through the streets of the state capital.

The Malinaltepec agricultural center in the Montaña region joined the demonstration; the Peasant Organization of the Southern Sierra (OCSS); the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities - Community Police (CRAC-PC); the State Coordinator of Education Workers of Guerrero (CETEG); and the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teacher Training School of Ayotzinapa.

The "Lupita Rodríguez Narciso" Collective of the Disappeared; the María Herrera Searching for Families; the Paulo Freire Center for Advanced Studies; the José María Morelos y Pavón Regional Center for the Defense of Human Rights; and the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center.

The march began at 10:30 a.m. at the Nicolás Bravo roundabout, north of the city.

He headed south until he reached the Guerrero State Attorney General's Office (FGE) at 1 p.m.

During the march, slogans were chanted demanding clarification of the Marco Antonio Suástegui case.

"Marco died, but he never gave up!"

At the march, Diana Hernández—daughter of peasant leader Ranferi Hernández, who was murdered along with his wife, mother-in-law, and godson in 2017—said in an interview that in Guerrero, authorities are absent and omitting to address crimes against social activists.

"There is no sign of justice being brought to justice, nor is there any action to stop the perpetrators and masterminds of the murders," he said.

Outside the prosecutor's office, Abel Barrera Hernández, director of the Tlachinollan Center, said:

"Three decades ago, when he was studying architecture, Marco Antonio understood that the struggle of men, young people, and women living in the countryside had to embrace the struggle of the people."

"He cut his teeth in rugged terrain, on the Papagayo River, which has been a source of inspiration for men and women seeking justice."

The protesters demanded a report on the investigation two weeks after the murder.

State Undersecretary of the Interior, Francisco Rodríguez Cisneros, a star operator for Governor Evelyn Salgado, arrived at the scene.

To defuse the protest, he arranged a meeting with Attorney General Zipacna Jesús Torres. There has been no progress in the investigation.