How a community group freed a farmworker facing life in prison
When Virgilio Aguilar Mendez was falsely accused and arrested for the tragic death of a sheriff officer, he faced life in prison. But everything changed when Mariana Blanco from an organisation representing his community, the Guatemalan-Maya Center, started a petition to spread the word that Virgilio’s constitutional and civil rights were violated.
“Change.org played a huge part in the release of Virgilio. We couldn’t sit knowing he would spend the rest of his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.”
Mariana Blanco, petition starterHer campaign quickly became viral with support from influencers on TikTok who shared the petition widely. It soon grew to over 500,000 signatures. This nationwide effort soon led to a victory when prosecutors dropped all charges. Mariana says the petition was critical to freeing Virgilio after almost a year in prison, “Change allowed us to tell a story we knew wasn’t going to be told in other outlets - voices together are louder”.
Check out the petition to see how it became so successful.