Homero Gomez Gonzalez was a Mexican environmental activist and agricultural engineer who, in advocating for the preservation of the monarch reserves in Michoacan, Mexico, was murdered.
If you are lucky, you may have come across a monarch butterfly or a flock of this species during the fall. The monarchs are small, milkweed butterflies that are a part of the Nymphalidae family. They are most commonly known for their advanced migration patterns, and their multi-colored wings made up of orange hues and black. Although the monarchs seem as though they appear out of thin air, they’re actually running through a cycle of migration that occurs every fall season. In recent years, these majestic butterflies have dwindled in population, becoming endangered due to climate change and logging that takes place in countries where the economy is dependent on these jobs.
Every fall, the monarchs migrate from North America, where they stay for the summer, to central Mexico for their wintering grounds. Within Mexico, environmental activism is not something that is practiced because organized crime circles in the country do not want people to interfere with their illegal actions, so activists often pose as targets for these groups. Without environmental advocacy, the population of the monarchs are put at risk because of a lack of conservancy and more diligence in logging, in which their breeding locations are destroyed in the process. The population has decreased by over 80% since the late 1900s because of shrinkages of monarch overwintering locations. Despite these threatening claims, in the late 1990s to mid 2000s, a Mexican activist by the name of Homero Gomez Gonzalez took it upon himself to protect the monarchs and the areas they frequented in Mexico while migrating.
Homero was born in 1970 in the city of Michoacan in western Mexico where his family’s main source of income was logging. Mexico exports a variety of goods like wood and avocados to the U.S that are made from soil that has had its plants removed to make way for the planting of the crops. Logging and replanting involves chopping down many healthy organisms that could contribute to the production of oxygen that helps people breathe and cleansing of the air. Like many communities in Michoacan, Mexico, Homero was unaware of the harmful effects of this harvesting, how it both negatively impacted the climate and the living organisms that resided in the forests. Eventually, he left logging behind and convinced his family to follow suit in shifting their focus on preserving the habitats of the butterflies, in hopes that the money they received from logging could be replaced with tourism. He loved the natural beauty he would find when scavenging the forests in Michoacan and studying the monarchs, believing everyone should have the chance to witness the striking sight of them. As a community leader, Homero took care of the monarch butterfly sanctuary and ushered residents in Michoacan to rally for the preservation of the insects. Homero oversaw the El Rosario Monarch Reserve, where he led efforts to keep loggers from destroying the reserve and spread awareness on the growing concern of deforestation. Through his work, Homero was able to catalyze the process of making logging illegal in El Rosario, Mexico.
However, as Homero continuously expanded the trajectory of his advocacy for the monarchs, he not only gained the support of various communities, but drew the attention of people who loathed his work. Mexico is notorious for being one of the most dangerous countries in the world because of the extreme acts of violence that cartels carry out on a daily basis against residents and tourists. Their agendas revolve around subjecting people into giving themselves up to protect their families. However, these cartels do not act alone and are actually backed up by prominent figures in government. When interviewing Vanessa Marroquin, a family relative of Salvadoran origin, about her concerns with the power of the cartel and other crime groups, she expressed how the government aids these people because they want to keep their loved ones away from potential harm, while also profiting off of the illegal acts they commit. “You can be an honest governor, just want to be one, but if they threaten you, you have to stand with the crime org,” said Marroquin. Homero was on the cartel's watchlist and subsequently, they would often send him death threats, even going as far as to kidnap him to talk him into halting his efforts in keeping the habitats of the monarchs safe from outside manipulation. What these crime groups wanted was to drive him out of the monarch reserve to exploit the natural resources of the forests and unfortunately, they were able to get away with it.
Sadly, in January of 2020, Homero was found dead, one of the 800 dead activists in Michoacan alone. Though ruled a suicide by federal officials, his family presumes he was assassinated by the cartel. In his case, the government denied that there was any foul play involving his sudden passing, but Homero’s family had evidence to argue that he was murdered because he hindered several motives for destroying nature.
Despite his murder, Homero’s legacy continues on through the people he influenced with his efforts to keep the wild habitats of the monarchs in good shape and prohibit organized crime groups from contributing to the climate crisis. Homero’s son, Homero Gomez Valencia, continues to carry on in his footsteps by partaking in environmental activism. The effects of his death not only in Mexico, but in the entirety of the Latin American population were drastic, with many calling attention to the need of putting an end to the fear that the cartel instills upon people who want to stand up for what is right. Climate and environmental activism is extremely rare because of the shared conception in Latin America that there are more pressing and consuming problems to worry about, like that of the criminal activity that was engaged in. In the past, a country like El Salvador was facing gang violence that was taking over the lives of numerous people, while at the same time, contributing to climate change. This is the issue. Choosing what problem is worse between several of them is wrong because at the end of the day, one still has to find solutions to both at some point in time. Homero brought light to the monarchs and the threats that were facing them, in part due to a lack of care for the species in Latin America. However, by witnessing the steps that Homero took to make changes for societal problems he cared about, many El Salvadorians like Marroquin were inspired by his courage. It was thanks to him that the monarchs could safely complete their cycles of migration. Susana Marroquin, another family member from El Salvador, took note of the importance of his work on a bigger scale. Hundreds of individuals attended his funeral standing in solidarity with him, for he was the voice of the people and carried out much needed reform. Mexican civilians find it frustrating that there is no justice served for activists who are wrongfully killed, but this tragic fact only means that its society is heading in the righteous direction in taking action. “Corruption. Todo acaba en corruption. Corruptos, [Corruption. Everything finishes with corruption. Corrupts],” says Jose Gomez, a family relative who used to live in Mexico. When the criminals push down harder, activists fight back stronger. Que viva Homero Gomez Gonzalez [Long live Homero Gomez Gonzalez]!
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