Mitontic, the sum of violence

By Ángeles Mariscal

Mitontic is a municipality located in the indigenous zone of Los Altos de Chiapas, it has about 15 thousand inhabitants, practically all of them Tsotsil people. Mitontic has the richness of its cultural heritage that can be seen in its religious celebrations, in the weaving that the women of the place make and wear, and in some practices such as the strength of the sense of community. But it is also a place that is crossed by all forms of violence: gender violence, poverty, impunity and, more recently, that of crime groups.

In 2021, just two years ago, this municipality was a clear scenario of gender violence. During the electoral process of that year, to renew municipal presidencies, some of the partisan actors complied with the laws related to gender parity by simulating the candidacy of women who, in reality, were their daughters, sisters or wives. The women who won in fact did not exercise and have not exercised the office, more than in a nominal way. There are at least eight proven cases.