River

The assassination of Antonio Esteban Cruz, leader of the Independent Movement of Urban and Popular Workers and Farmers (MIOCUP), on June 4, confirms the atmosphere of terror and repression of activists living in the state, PRD deputy Roxana Porquillo Luna charged. The federal lawmaker urged the government of Rafael Moreno Valle [of the PAN] to promptly solve this crime that makes even more worrisome the situation of persecution that various social movements and organizations of the state are experiencing. "The wave of terror that exists in Puebla and that has resulted in the murder of a leader of a major organization for the Sierra Norte [Northern Mountains region] is confirmed. It is worrisome. The strategy is clear: first intimidate, imprison and now there is the death of a fellow leader. All this in the climate of a campaign by the state government against the citizens of the state and their organizations," she lamented. Antonio Esteban Cruz, an indigenous leader opposing the project to build a hydroelectric plant in the municipalities of Cuetzalan and Ayotoxco, was shot four times on Wednesday morning in “El Rincón” ["The Corner"], on the banks of the Apulco River, a tributary that he was defending. At a press conference with members of the National Movement Los de Abajo, [Those From Below] Roxana Luna agreed with other activists that the death of Antonio Esteban has a political background, but she desisted from directly saying that the state government was responsible.