Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum presided over a social justice ceremony in San Salvador Atenco on Sunday, pledging that no security forces under her administration will be used to repress civilian populations. The statement came as her government formally returned 54.5 hectares of land to the Peoples’ Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT), the grassroots movement that led resistance against the canceled Mexico City airport project.
The restitution ceremony carried strong historical significance, coming nearly two decades after the violent 2006 police operation in Atenco, which has been widely condemned for human rights violations including torture, sexual assaults against women, and mass arbitrary detentions. Sheinbaum framed the gesture as part of a broader political shift, contrasting what she described as past “neoliberal repression” with her administration’s emphasis on dialogue and negotiation. She cited her own prior experience mediating community disputes, arguing that state responses should prioritize engagement over force.
During the event, the FPDT renewed its long-standing demands for accountability over the 2006 crackdown, which occurred on May 3 and 4 and left deep social and political scars. The organization called for criminal investigations into former presidents Vicente Fox and Enrique Peña Nieto, who was governor of the State of Mexico at the time, accusing them of responsibility for killings, sexual violence against women, and the imprisonment of hundreds of farmers. The movement continues to characterize the episode as one of the most severe cases of state repression in modern Mexican history.
Beyond the land restitution already completed, the FPDT presented additional demands to the federal government, including the return of 186 hectares in Xalapango, the termination of mining activities in the region, and investment in public infrastructure such as schools and healthcare facilities under a broader development plan known as Manos a la Cuenca. Activists emphasized that these measures are essential to fully repair historical grievances and ensure long-term territorial rights.
While acknowledging progress made under the previous administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, including the cancellation of the New Mexico City International Airport project and the designation of the area as a protected ecological zone, FPDT representatives stressed that many of their core demands remain unmet. The movement stated that it sees a “window of opportunity” under the current government to finally advance legal accountability for those it holds responsible for the 2006 violence.
