Guadalupe Vázquez

Guadalupe Vázquez
Vázquez at a protest in Chenalhó in 2018
Born (1987-08-28) 28 August 1987
Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico
OccupationHuman rights activist
OrganizationLas Abejas
Known forCampaigning for indigenous rights and peace
Children2

Guadalupe "Lupita" Vázquez Luna (born 28 August 1987) is a Mexican human rights activist.[1] She represents the Tzotzil people in the National Indigenous Congress, and was the first woman to become a leader of Las Abejas, a Tzotzil pacifist group.[2] A survivor of the 1997 Acteal massacre, Vázquez has criticised the Mexican government for failing to protect indigenous communities, and has campaigned against discrimination and violence against indigenous women.[1][3]

Early life and education

Vázquez was born on 28 August 1987 in Chiapas to Alonso Vázquez Gómez and María Luna Méndez. She is one of 11 children. Vázquez's father was a catechist who organised local fasts and prayers.[3][4]

While Vázquez's sisters did not continue their studies beyond basic education, she convinced her father to allow her to remain in school due to her good grades. Vázquez's studies were interrupted by the Acteal massacre in 1997; by 2000, she was able to resume her studies at a Las Abejas school, eventually completing her primary and secondary education, the latter in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Vázquez later worked as a teacher.[2]

At the age of 19, Vázquez moved in with her partner without having married him, in a violation of a Tzotzil tradition that couples only live together after marriage. Vázquez stated that she did not wish to be a "submissive, obedient woman". She and her partner had two children before later separating.[2]

Activism

On 22 December 1997, a group of paramilitaries stormed a chapel where people were praying in Acteal, killing 45 people, including Vázquez's parents, five of her siblings, her grandmother, and her uncle.[5] Vázquez survived the massacre after her father ordered her to flee the chapel and hide in the coffee plantations further down the mountain with one of her brothers; they were subsequently located by a surviving aunt in Pohló.[6][7] Vázquez subsequently stated she was unable to forgive the perpetrators of the massacre, stating "if I forgive, I forget, and we cannot".[8] In 1998, Vázquez joined Las Abejas and its artisan group, embroidering handicrafts sold at the community store.[2]

As a young adult, Vázquez joined the National Indigenous Congress' Indigenous Governing Council for Chiapas, representing the Altos-Centro region of the state. In 2018, she publicly supported María de Jesús Patricio Martínez as a candidate in the general election.[6] Vázquez stated that she wished to obtain justice for Tzotzil and other indigenous peoples, and to make the problems experienced by people living in Chiapas more visible.[2] Vázquez is a Zapatista and is a critic of the Mexican government.[9]

On 8 March 2018, to commemorate International Women's Day, Vázquez took part in a Las Abejas protest at the Majomut military barracks in Chenalhó to protest the presence of the military in local communities, describing them as "government assassins". Vázquez was reported as telling soldiers "the problem is not here, the problem is up there", and called on them to fight against the government and not the Mexican people.[10]

In February 2019, as a representative of the Chiapas Indigenous Governing Council, Vázquez condemned the murder of Samir Flores, an environmental activist who had campaigned against the construction of a thermoelectric plant in Huexca, Morelos, who was murdered outside his home earlier that month, days after publicly confronting government officials about the project. Vázquez called on activists to unite to "defend the land, because with it we defend life".[11]

Recognition

In 2016, Vázquez featured in the documentary film Colectivo de mujeres artesanas de Las Abejas, as one of the members of Las Abejas' artisan group.[12]

In 2019, a short film entitled Lupita. Que retiemble la tierra (lit. 'Lupita: Let the Earth Tremble'), directed by Mónica Wise and Eduardo Gutiérrez Wise, was released. In the film, Vázquez recounts her life story and work, as well as that of Las Abejas. The film won an award at the 2020 Virtual Film Festival and screened at the Ambulante Documentary Film Festival.[13][14] In 2021, the film was released in English as Lupita on YouTube by the British newspaper The Guardian.[15]

In 2021, Vázquez presented the Golden Ariel award to Ofelia Medina, an actress and activist, at the 63rd Ariel Awards.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Beuter, Emily (5 May 2020). "Resilient Voices: 21st-century Indigenous Women Activism in Latin America". College of Wooster. Archived from the original on 5 March 2026. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Muñoz Ramírez, Gloria. "Soy lo que soy y lo que me hizo la vida" [I am who I am, and that's what life has made me]. Flores en el Desierto (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 March 2026. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Soberanes, Rodrigo (22 December 2017). "Acteal: el día en que México avergonzó a la humanidad" [Acteal: the day Mexico shamed humanity]. Animal Político (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Landerreche, Rafael (15 August 2017). "Marichuy, Lupita y la hidra capitalista" [Marichuy, Lupita and the capitalist hydra]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 June 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Muñoz Ramírez, Gloria (21 December 2017). "A 20 años de la masacre de Acteal, la violencia y el desplazamiento actual" [20 years after the Acteal massacre, the violence and displacement continues]. Pressenza (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 Hernández Navarro, Luis (24 April 2018). "¿Prohibido pensar?" [Is thinking forbidden?]. REDH-Cuba (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Poulton, Lindsay; Gormley, Jess (5 January 2021). "Lupita: the powerful voice of one indigenous woman leading a movement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Henríquez, Elio (25 November 2017). "Matanza de Acteal, casi dos décadas; las víctimas no quieren ni pueden perdonar" [Acteal massacre, almost two decades later: the victims neither want to nor can forgive]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Poulton, Lindsay; Gormley, Jess (5 January 2021). "Lupita: the powerful voice of one indigenous woman leading a movement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Bolaños, Aimée Luna (15 April 2018). "Mujer indígena encara a soldados; los llama 'asesinos del gobierno' (VIDEO)" [Indigenous woman confronts soldiers; calls them 'government assassins' (VIDEO)]. La Neta Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Henríquez, Elio (23 February 2019). "Muerte de Samir Flores no debe quedar impune: CIG" [The death of Samir Flores must not go unpunished: CIG]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Hernández Núñez, Maribel (9 July 2016). "Mujeres artesanas "Las Abejas" presentan video sobre su trabajo creativo" [Women artisans of “Las Abejas” present a video about their creative work]. Revista Enheduanna (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Lupita, que retiemble la tierra: voz de una sobreviviente" [Lupita, que retiemble la tierra: voice of a survivor]. Lado B (in Spanish). 25 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Lupita. Que retiemble la tierra". Ambulante Documentary Film Festival. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Poulton, Lindsay; Gormley, Jess (5 January 2021). "Lupita: the powerful voice of one indigenous woman leading a movement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  16. ↑ Rodríguez, Ana Mónica (26 September 2021). "Sobreviviente de Acteal entrega Ariel de Oro a Ofelia Medina" [Acteal survivor presents Golden Ariel award to Ofelia Medina]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
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