Cirio Ruiz González
Cirio Ruiz González is a human rights defender who is the President of the Regional Council of Coffee in Coatepec, Mexico. He has been working for more than 40 years as a leader of workers in the coffee sector and advocating for the fair trade and prices of the commercialisation of quality coffee.
Disappearances are endemic in Mexico, often happening with collusion from the state. HRDs working on the issue face serious risk, up to and including death. HRDs working in the defence of territory, particularly indigenous territory, face a similar level of risk. They are criminalised, imprisoned, defamed, and often killed. Journalists working on any of these issues, or issues related to the drugs trade and the government's complicity in this, also run the risk of losing their lives.
