A group of 151 Christians from the Great Commission Baptist Church in southern Mexico’s Hidalgo state, who were forced out of their villages in April 2024 because of their religious beliefs, and were later permitted to return home, have been displaced again because local authorities have reneged on an agreement allowing them to move back into their homes.

Village authorities had forced the Baptists out of the neighbouring villages of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo by cutting off electricity and water, vandalising their church building and blocking access to some of their homes. The group, including over seventy children and babies, lived in very difficult circumstances until state and municipal officials brokered an agreement in September between village authorities and the Baptists, allowing them to return home. Electricity and water were reconnected, they were promised state aid if needed and village authorities agreed to uphold freedom of religion or belief for all.

Village authorities reneged on the agreement, however, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that the Baptists have had to move to Chalma in neighbouring Veracruz state. They have been offered the opportunity to rent land to buy later and are living in tents while they wait to receive government aid.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports, “Contrary to the stipulations of the agreement, those who returned to the villages were informed that they would be obliged to make financial contributions to the local Roman Catholic church, and while they would not be forced to particate in Roman Catholic events, they would be expected to pay associated fees. The village authorities also communicated that they would not be permitted to speak about their religious beliefs and placed a ban on any conversions.

“Those who chose to live in Coamila and Rancho Nuevo would have their movements strictly monitored to enforce a prohibition on any contact with their counterparts, many of whom are relatives, who resettled in Veracruz.

“Finally, the members of the religious minority were informed that that they would not be reinstated on community rolls for another year, meaning they would be barred from accessing health, education and other government benefits, to ensure they complied with the above conditions.”

Ongoing persecution

Recent events are an escalation of persecution suffered by the Baptists of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo since 2015, rooted in village leaders’ insistence that they convert back to Catholicism. Church members have been detained, beaten, barred from accessing medical care, sacked from their jobs, prevented from burying their dead, had lands confiscated and crops destroyed, and their children have been banned from attending the local school.

In parts of Mexico, especially in mountainous regions of the southern states, the majority religion is a folk Catholicism that blends pre-Hispanic Mayan practices with Catholicism in a syncretic Christo-pagan religion. Community life centres on religious holidays that involve heavy drinking and pagan elements, and evangelical Christianity is viewed as an American religion. In these regions pressure to participate in religious festivals has been an ongoing issue for many years. Evangelicals who choose not to participate or cannot afford to are fined or jailed, and if they still refuse they are denied services such as water and electricity and risk their church buildings and homes being burned and their belongings confiscated. 

Read more about the persecution of Christians in Mexico.

(Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Church in Chains Mexico Country Profile,  Evangelical Focus, International Christian Concern, Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

Photo: Christians displaced from Coamila and Rancho Nuevo (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

Map: Adapted from Church in Chains Global Guide (4th Edition)