Tomás Martínez Mandujano
Tomás Martínez Mandujano is an Otomí indigenous leader, builder and human rights defender from the Llano Grande Azcapotzaltongo community, located in the Nicolás Romero municipality, State of Mexico.
As a community leader, he has taught masonry to the people of Llano Grande in order to create job opportunities and promote the development of the community, who are currently facing poor living conditions and marginalisation from the State. He has also defended their land, of which they have an ancestral ownership, from private interests of property companies that aim to exploit it for its easy access to water resources.
Due to his human rights work, Tomás Martínez Mandujano has been the subject of criminalization and smear campaigns. He has been been sentenced to 43 years and 9 months in prison for a crime he did not commit.
HRDs working in Mexico in the defence of territory, particularly indigenous territory, face a high level of risk. They are criminalised, imprisoned, defamed, and often killed.
