March Called Today Against Monreal Government in Zacatecas for Repression of Bean Farmers
This article by Alfredo Valadez Rodríguez originally appeared in the May 10, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.
Zacatecas, Zacatecas. The violence and police repression against peacefully protesting farmers and activists by agents of the Zacatecas Immediate Reaction Force (FRIZ), an “elite” police unit of the Zacatecas Public Security Secretariat, which resulted in the arrest of 12 people, including farmers, university students, and a retired teacher, all from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ) – who were released early Sunday morning – has caused widespread outrage and solidarity from unions, social organizations, and civil society groups. These groups have called for a large rally and march of protest against the actions of the Morena party government of David Monreal Ávila this Monday, May 11.
Almost 24 hours after the events occurred, Cristian Paul Camacho Osnaya, State Prosecutor, issued a statement confirming that 12 people were placed at the disposal of the ministerial authority “for their probable participation in the crime of disobedience and resistance of private individuals”.
Through their leaders and representatives, the Academic Personnel Union of the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (SPAUAZ), the Federation of Socialist Peasant Students of Mexico Normal School of the Rural Normal School of San Marcos (FCSUM), sections 34 and 58 of the SNTE which are also affiliated with the CNTE, the Social Front for National Sovereignty, the Independent Union of Telesecundaria Schools of the State of Zacatecas (SITEZ), the Network of Feminist Organizations of Zacatecas and the Zacatecan Coordinator of Social Struggle April 10, released separate statements on the matter.
The rector of the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ), Ángel Román Gutiérrez, accompanied by some of his staff, had to personally go to the State Attorney General’s Office to secure the release of two female students, one from the School of Electrical Engineering and the other from the School of Public Management and Development, as well as a young male student from the School of Agronomy. Also involved was a 74-year-old retired teacher who had been detained and handcuffed by members of the FRIZ.
Likewise, lawyer Jorge Rada Luévano – defender of retired and pensioned teachers from Issstezac, who has won more than 2,500 cases against the Zacatecas government for the illegal withholding of benefits and bonuses – announced that a group of lawyers specializing in criminal law has been formed to provide free legal follow-up and support to farmers, students, and teachers illegally detained by state police.
The lawyer stated in a written statement released on social media that “the publicly disseminated images and video recordings compel us to clarify who ordered the arrests, under what legal basis they were carried out, and who is materially and hierarchically responsible for possible abuses, excessive use of force, or arbitrary detentions. The security personnel involved must be investigated and, if necessary, temporarily suspended from their posts while the corresponding investigations are carried out.”
The general secretary of SAPUAZ, Jenny González Arenas, questioned “the arbitrary arrests” of university students and farmers, which she said “represent a direct attack on freedom of expression, the right to assembly and social protest, protected by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States and international treaties such as the American Convention on Human Rights.”
For their part, Rodolfo García Zamora and José Luis Figueroa Rangel, on behalf of the Zacatecas Coordinating Committee for Social Struggle April 10, strongly condemned “the repression ordered today by Governor David Monreal Ávila… the state government, instead of resolving the demands of the bean-producing farmers that they have been making since the end of 2025, has perverted the entire federal bean procurement program to favor the “coyotes,” many of whom are local deputies, municipal presidents, and public officials.”
Furthermore, they warned that “the corruption is so widespread that, since they can no longer serve the producers, it is suspected that the state government ordered the burning of the SEGALMEX warehouses in Zacatecas – last April 21, during another protest by farmers – in order to frame the bean producers and divert public attention, which has supported the farmers.”
Meanwhile, students from FECSUM at the “General Matías Ramos Santos” rural teachers’ college in the community of San Marcos, Loreto, Zacatecas, demanded that the authorities of the state of Zacatecas “attend to the farmers, who have decided to raise their voices against this harassment, and that their demands be addressed and resolved immediately.”
In addition to demanding the release of all those detained, the student teachers reminded the government of David Monreal Ávila in their statement that “the Rural Teacher Training Colleges have stood with the people and the just causes of the countryside. We reaffirm our commitment to rural communities and reiterate that the fight for public education is also the fight for land and peasant dignity.”
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