This happens in Campeche state, in the south of Mexico and it has caused the reaction of international human rights groups.

A report by Amnesty International says on July 10 at 5am, federal police officers raided the homes of Sara López González, Joaquín Aguilar Méndez, Guadalupe Borja, Elmer Castellanos and Guadalupe Vizcaíno in the town of Candelaria.

None of them got an explanation about the reasons for the arrest, nor were they able to see the arrest warrants. It was later known the court approved a report filed by the company Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) for the purported kidnapping of its workers in September of 2008.

The activists said these are false accusations and that it is all part of an attempt to criminalize the social movements. In January of 2009, the worker that had been purportedly kidnapped admitted he had voluntarily gone with these group of people to a community to check a report of failure in the electricity supply, Amnesty’s report says.

The document asking for the release of the five social leaders adds that in Mexico the answer to the legitimate protests has been “groundless or disproportionate” criminal charges against the demonstrators.

But the spokespersons of the CFE have justified the claims filed before the Nation’s Attorney General’s Office because they claim some people have organized actions “that affect the body’s performance of its institutional responsibilities” , according to Mexican newspaper La Jornada.

Besides the arbitrary detentions, the grassroots organizations of Campeche claim they are suffering “permanent harassment”. Last week there was a meeting of CFE costumers to report the prices of the tariffs. The participants reported the presence of infiltrated people from the Federal Agency of Investigations, a body that depends on the Attorney General’s office.

Photo: http://www.la-verdad.com.mx