Paving a way for religious freedom

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, September 12th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: religious persecution in Mexico.

More than a hundred evangelicals had to flee from their homes in Hidalgo, Mexico back in April after threats of violence from indigenous villagers. It’s been more than four months now yet there’s been no agreement to end their displacement.

BROWN: How is the Mexican government reacting, and how will this affect future cases of religious persecution in the country? WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has the story.

AUDIO: [Tour of Hidalgo]

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The mountainous state of Hidalgo, Mexico is a popular tourist destination. The indigenous peoples in the area retain much of their traditional culture. But a conflict has been brewing here for years as Protestant Christians refuse to participate in the ritualistic festivals of their village.

Last April, indigenous villagers seized the homes and property of dozens of Protestant families in Hidalgo. Weeks later, the locals charged the evangelical community a fine of roughly $40,000 U.S. dollars to get their properties back. In a town where almost everyone works in agriculture or cattle ranching, that amount seems impossible.

AUDIO: [Sound of prayer]

In a remote town where almost everyone works in agriculture or cattle ranching, that amount seems impossible.

PRAYER: [Nuestras propiedades, nuestras casas…]

With no other place to go, Pastor Rogelio Hernández Baltazar and his Great Commission Baptist Church relocated to a temporary shelter. There, they continue waiting for Mexican authorities to take action on their behalf.

Pablo Vargas is the Mexico National Director for Christian Solidarity Worldwide—or CSW. After almost 20 years addressing cases of religious persecution in the country, he believes to have found the root cause behind them all.

VARGAS: Cuando nosotros empezamos a investigar teníamos una lista de alrededor de 120 casos, pero poco a poco empezamos a entender que el problema de México era un problema cultural.

TRANSLATION: When we began investigating, we had a list of about 120 cases, but little by little we began to understand that the issue with Mexico was a cultural problem.

In Mexico, the Law of Uses and Customs allows for autonomous government among indigenous communities. Although not the law of the land, this clause is often used by locals to exploit religious minorities and override the religious freedom theoretically upheld in the Mexican Constitution. According to a 2022 study from CSW, more than 90% of complaints involving religious freedom abuses in Mexico go unpunished.

Baltazar’s church had faced multiple episodes of persecution since their conversion to Protestantism in 2015. But when locals threatened to assault their wives and daughters, the evangelicals decided it was time to go.

Baltazar’s assistant Nicolás Solorzano thanks God for providing the temporary shelter and the support of nearby evangelical churches. But this does not change the difficult aspects of living away from home.

SOLÓRZANO: Hemos estado ya durante casi cuatro meses eh albergados en el auditorio, en las condiciones, eh, en malas condiciones, porque nos, nos tenemos que dormir ahí en el piso y cuando eh tiempos de que llueve pues el agua se gotea ahí en la lámina y trasmina el agua ahí, este, en en las paredes.

TRANSLATION: We have been housed for almost four months now, uh, in bad conditions, because we, we have to sleep on the floor and when, uh, it rains, water drips on the metal roof over there and leaks on the, uh, into the walls.

AUDIO: [Thunder/heavy rain on roof]

The 160 displaced Christians have managed to live for more than 100 days at a sports complex in Hidalgo with only four bathrooms to share.

State officials had so far dismissed the crisis as a social skirmish of little importance. But Pablo Vargas has been following the negotiations closely, and he says the wait might be finally over.

VARGAS: Ahora el gobierno del estado ha enviado a una persona específica y a comisionado para que arregle el problema. / Entonces ahora ya hay un deseo real del gobierno del estado después de varia presión social y mediática para que ellos busquen una solución.

TRANSLATION: Now the state government has sent a specific person commissioned to fix the conflict. So now there’s a real desire from the state government to act after much social and media pressure to look for a solution.

It is likely that the displaced evangelicals will still have to pay some fines to reclaim their homes, but the terms of their return could be better than expected.

At first, local authorities fined the evangelicals individually just over $3,500 U.S. dollars. After a series of talks, the number decreased to just over $250 per person.

Baltazar and his church already sent their own proposal, agreeing to pay no more than 5 years of fines to the local indigenous community. A final agreement is expected to come in a matter of days. If successful, their proposal could set a favorable precedent for future cases of religious persecution in Hidalgo. But this would mark just the beginning of potential religious freedom reforms across other indigenous groups in Mexico.

VARGAS: O sea, vemos que hay un interés por parte del Gobierno del Estado, pero como les decía al principio de la entrevista, es muy difícil convencer o cambiar la forma de pensar de una comunidad a la que por años le dijiste tienes razón y ahora le estás diciendo no siempre tienes razón. Esa simple forma de pensar es muy difícil porque ninguna de las personas que está ahí puede entender, reconocer y aplicar la libertad de creencia y religión. Así que, en mi perspectiva, aunque se logre un acuerdo, va a seguir. Va a haber mucho trabajo por hacer.

TRANSLATION: In other words, we now see that there’s interest on the part of the state government. But as I said at the start of the interview, it’s difficult to convince or change the mindset of a community who for years you reaffirmed, and now you tell them “you’re not always right.” That way of thinking is very difficult to remove because none of these people can understand, recognize, and apply freedom of religion or belief. So, in my perspective, even if a deal is reached, this will continue. There will still be a lot of work to do.

And in the meantime, the evangelical community continues to worship and wait on the Lord.

For WORLD's Carlos Páez who wrote and reported this story, I'm Kristen Flavin.

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