Mexico is one of the countries with the highest rates of violence in Latin America due to the strong influence of organized crime. And for Christians, the scenario becomes even more frightening, with increasing religious persecution in a specific region of the country, which has become known as the Circle of Silence.
The term was coined by an American missionary who began studying the area, made up of eight states in southern Mexico – Jalisco, Guajajuato, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Aguacalientes and Nayarit, after learning of a census by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), indicating that less than 1% of the population in that area was Protestant Christian.
Compared to other states where the Gospel had already been preached in the country, this was a very low number.
The missionary then wondered for years about the reasons why there were not so many Christians in that region, when he discovered that the territories where the modern states are demarcated were the epicenter of the Cristero War, a series of armed conflicts led by the State against the Catholic Church and its followers.
A missionary interviewed by the NGO, who monitors the situation of violence in Mexico, explained that “this war led to resistance among local communities to any religion other than Catholicism, especially after such a deep and polarizing conflict as the Cristero War”, generating effects to this day.
The historic event occurred between 1926 and 1929, when the secular and anticlerical government of Plutarco Elías Calles fought against Catholics who opposed laws that restricted religious practices in the region.
The Cristeros – those who fought against state censorship – sought to defend their religious rights and resist anticlerical policies. According to reports from the Open doorsGuanajuato, Jalisco and Michoacán were the places with the greatest civilian losses.
This series of conflicts has caused a rupture in traditional Catholicism. “Today, it is a system of tradition rather than devotion to God. For Catholics in the region, Christians are failing the traditions of their ancestors who fought to the death in the Cristero War to defend the Catholic Church. In other words, their faith is not governed by the Bible or the will of God, but by traditions,” the missionary said.
According to Open doorsthe war contributed to the repression of other types of faith in the region of the Circle of Silence. Evangelical Christians, for example, live their faith in secret due to the risks of exposing themselves – in certain communities, those who convert to Christianity are classified as “traitors” and face rejection even from their families for going against “their traditions and roots”.
In addition to religious conflicts throughout history, Christians in Mexico have suffered strong pressure from criminal groups linked to drug trafficking, such as the Sinaloa cartel or the Jalisco New Generationwho use the region to control the shipment of narcotics to other states and even to the neighboring country, the United States.
Currently, the North American country occupies 37th position on the World Watch List, prepared by the NGO Open doorsfocused on monitoring the worldwide persecution against adherents of Christianity.
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