EZLN delegation tour to Mexico City to meet families of the disappeared, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): A delegation of 1,530 members of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) will travel from Chiapas to Mexico City to meet with searching mothers and relatives of missing persons. The meeting is scheduled for December 2026 and is part of a tour that also includes visits to other states in the country.
According to information published by La Jornada, the Zapatist organization confirmed its intention to carry out the trip, despite denouncing alleged harassment that, it says, seeks to prevent its members from traveling. In a statement signed by Subcomandante Moisés and representatives of the Zapatista autonomous governments, the group said it will move ahead with the initiative.
The central purpose of the meeting is to listen to the testimonies of families searching for their loved ones, learn about their experiences and express solidarity. The organization said it seeks to approach people affected by disappearances, hear their stories directly and bring those testimonies back to Zapatista communities.
According to information released about the tour, the delegation is scheduled to depart on November 29, 2026. Its members would remain in the capital through December and the first week of January 2027, before the return trip scheduled for January 10.
The tour involves more than 31 buses to transport delegation members.
In addition to Mexico City, the initiative includes activities and meetings in Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, Jalisco and Querétaro. The tour is part of what is called the Gira por la Vida, Mexico chapter.
To organize meetings with collectives, the participation of human rights and accompaniment organizations has been mentioned, including the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba), the National Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations Todos los Derechos para Todas, Todos y Todes, and the Centro Prodh.
The meeting aims to open a space for families to share their search experiences and the difficulties they face in locating their loved ones. The EZLN has said its intention is to hear testimonies directly and establish a bond of solidarity with those pressing these demands.
The organization has proposed that meetings be held with collectives and families, without the goal of creating a new coordinating structure among them.
The visit is significant given the disappearance crisis affecting Mexico and the work of family collectives, which organize searches, gather information and demand that authorities act to find missing persons. In its statements, the EZLN accused authorities at various levels of government of actions that, from its perspective, seek to obstruct the trip.
The accusations include alleged harassment, threats and arbitrary detentions in Chiapas. The group has also mentioned conflicts related to the La Culebra ejido in Ocosingo and effects on lands linked to construction of the San Cristóbal-Palenque highway.
These claims reflect the organization’s account and should not be considered independently verified facts.
Despite these allegations, the EZLN reiterated that it maintains its decision to transfer the delegation to the capital and hold the planned meetings with searching families. The stay in Mexico City will also coincide with the 33rd anniversary of the Zapatista uprising, which took place on January 1, 1994.
The tour thus represents an effort to engage with collectives and relatives of missing persons in different regions of the country.
