In response to the accusations made by the Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and by Jesús Ramírez Cuervas, General Social Communication Coordinator of the Presidency of the Republic, against the indigenous defenders and the social organizations that subscribe to this communiqué, we wish, first of all term, to thank the many expressions of solidarity and support we have received from individuals and organizations at the national and international level.

We would also like to respond to the following:

Dissent is legitimate and desirable in a democracy, within an institutional framework of mutual respect. Any Mexican individual who considers that an act of authority violates his or her human rights, is entitled to exercise his or her right to legitimate legal defence, either individually or collectively. These and other rights are not only enshrined in the Federal Constitution but, in addition, are international commitments assumed in a free and sovereign manner by Mexico and which this administration has the legal obligation to comply with and respect.

Mega-projects have exploited and destroyed indigenous peoples' territories, reducing their autonomy, their ecosystems and the enjoyment of their human rights. Indigenous individuals and groups who have opposed mega-projects have been the object of multiple aggressions and intimidations that in some cases have led to imprisonment and even execution, as has been widely documented...