Obtilia Eugenio Manuel is small in stature but her voice is large and strong. She doesn’t hesitate to raise it in defence of the inhabitants of Me’ phaa Indigenous communities in Mexico’s Guerrero State who continue to suffer persecution and injustice.

But Obtilia’s outspoken leadership has put her in danger.

Following the murders in 2009 of Indigenous leaders Raúl Lucas Lucía and Manuel Ponce Rosas, whose bodies bore marks of torture, Obtilia received a series of text messages on her cell phone. The messages warned Obtilia to expect the same fate.

Another text message included information that suggested her phone was tapped. The message warned that Obtilia would be intercepted during the journey she was about to make. Later, she was followed and heard gunshots nearby.

In April 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognized the urgency of the situation and called on the government of Mexico to provide measures to protect Obtilia and her family. The response has been far from adequate.

On July 15, 2009 ,Obtilia was on her way to the state capital for a meeting with government officials regarding the implementation of security measures. As she left the bus station, two men approached, asking if she was Obtilia from Ayutla and whether she was travelling to the state capital. Fearing abduction, Obtilia ran back into the crowded station while the men followed her. She managed to escape but later when Obtilia tried to continue her journey, she saw the men waiting in a car with no licence plates.

The southern state of Guerrero is home to 116,000 Me’ phaa Indigenous People. They face discrimination and some of the lowest indicators of human development in the country. They have also been impacted by a policy of sending army patrols into marginalized Indigenous communities, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking and armed groups. This has coincided with serious human rights violations by military personnel.

The Me’ phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (OPIM) was founded in 2002. Its members promote small-scale economic and social development projects to improve the living conditions of Me’ phaa communities. They also campaign for justice and reparation for a series of human rights violations committed against Me’ phaa communities.

OPIM members like Obtilia Eugenio Manuel have succeeded in bringing to public attention serious human rights abuses including the rape of two Indigenous women by Mexican soldiers and the forced sterilization of 14 Indigenous men. In their efforts to seek justice, OPIM members have had to overcome threats, harassment and the killing of leader Lorenzo Fernández Ortega. Other OPIM members like Raúl Hernández have been jailed on fabricated charges. Amnesty International adopted him as a prisoner of conscience and is currently working for his release.

Amnesty International also calls on Mexican authorities to acknowledge the work of the OPIM, to investigate threats against OPIM members and to provide them with effective protection.