Mexico: The Martin Cambio and Legionarios de Cristo groups in Aguascalientes, their support for the Zapatista movement and disappearance of their members between December 1999 and February 2000
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 19 June 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MEX39080.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Mexico: The Martin Cambio and Legionarios de Cristo groups in Aguascalientes, their support for the Zapatista movement and disappearance of their members between December 1999 and February 2000, 19 June 2002, MEX39080.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be7330.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No references to a group called Martin Cambio in Aguascalientes could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
The Legion of Christ (as translated on the Website of the organization Legionarios de Cristo) is an international Catholic congregation founded in 1941 by Marcial Maciel, a Mexican priest (Legion of Christ 2002; Crisol 21 Apr. 2002). One source reported on it in 2001 as having approximately 350 "legionary" priests and more than 2,300 active members in 17 countries (Mexico Web 2001), while in 2002 the organization itself states that it is "active in 20 countries on 4 continents ... with over 510 priests and 2,500 seminarians" (Legion of Christ 2002). Members of the group belong to a broader organization named Regnum Christi, also founded by Marcial Maciel, which includes lay men and women (Regnum Christi n.d.). Please find extensive information on the groups' doctrine, organization and activities in Mexico and other countries at
The Legionaries of Christ have established numerous educational centres since 1954, beginning with the Instituto Cumbres in Mexico City, which then led to the creation of Anahuac University 10 years later (Crisol 21 Apr. 2002). Few recent references were found on the Legionaries of Christ activities in Aguascalientes: one refers to the existence of an Instituto Cumbres in Aguascalientes, as one of many schools of the religious group that graduates students throughout Mexico (Reforma 24 May 2001).
A report by Regnum Christi states that Easter 2002 saw a joint effort by "tens of thousands of lay people directed by the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi members," including "113 Legionary of Christ priests," paying missionary visits to homes in 21 states, including Aguascalientes (Regnum Christi 2002).
In April 2002 the Aguascalientes newspaper Crisol published an article on the origins of the Legionaries of Christ, its links with the family of President Fox and other influential political and business persons, public allegations of paedophilia made against its founder since 1997, and the alleged immunity from investigation and prosecution of the Catholic Church in matters of sexual abuse (21 Apr. 2002). However, the report does not describe specific activities of the organization in Aguascalientes.
Some sources describe the Legionaries of Christ in Mexico as a "conservative" movement close to the Archbishop of Mexico, with links to business groups, the National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional, PAN) and the international Catholic movement Opus Dei (La Jornada 9 Aug. 2000; ibid. 28 Feb. 1998; Público 5 Mar. 1998, Crisol 21 Apr. 2002). (See VEN29056.E of 7 April 1998 and MEX16117.E of 5 January 1994 for background information on the Opus Dei.)
No references to a link between the Legionaries of Christ and the Zapatista movement, or to disappearances of its members between December 1999 and February 2000, could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
The only reference found to a possible indirect link between Zapatistas and the Legionaries of Christ is in a 1998 article on a Catholic Church representative's visit to Chiapas, to launch a peace plan from the Church reportedly prepared by an alliance of the Catholic Church hierarchy linked to the Opus Dei and the Legionaries of Christ, and a powerful businessman partnering with a former finance secretary of the past administration of Carlos Salinas de Gortari (Público 5 Mar. 1998). The article describes the plan, presented by the Mexican Catholic Church and aimed at fostering peace through creation of wealth and employment, as a means of powerful business interests from northern Mexico to enter Chiapas while seeking a "blessing" (bendición) of the local Chiapas-based Catholic Church, which is described as having "enormous influence" (enorme influencia) in the EZLN conflict areas (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Crisol en Línea [Aguascalientes]. 21 April 2002. Raúl Trejo Delabre. "Ni angélicos, ni impunes."
La Jornada [Mexico City]. 9 August 2000. María Esther Ibarra. "Las universidades católicas niegan que sean sólo formadoras de elites."
_____. 28 February 1998. Karina Avilés. "Legionarios de Cristo y Pro Vida, bases sociales de Rivera: Barranco."
Legion of Christ/ Legionarios de Cristo, Mexico City. 2002. "The Legion of Christ is a Roman Catholic Congregation ... "
Mexico Web [Mexico City]. 2001.
Público [Guadalajara]. 5 March 1998. "Romo: el plan de paz real en Chiapas."
Reforma [Mexico City]. 24 May 2001. "Fomentan su excelencia educativa."
Regnum Christi, Hamden, Connecticut. 2002. " 50,000 Missionaries with the Legionaries During Holy Week."
_____. n.d. "What is Regnum Christi?"