por Yashenka Baca
A protest was held in front of the Mexican Consulate against the construction of a dam, which would affect several communities in Mexico.
To the sound of “The eyes of the world are on Temaca”, more than 20 protestors and activists, standing outside of the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco this past Wednesday Nov. 10, demanded that construction on the Zapotillo Dam, in the Jalisco state of Mexico, be stopped.
The protest, organized in the U.S. by International Rivers, was just one of dozens held around the world to mark the International Day of Action to stop the Zapotillo Dam. Similar actions took place in Argentina, Chile, Australia, Kenya and Canada, among others. All had the same objective: To inform the world about the conflict between the Mexican government and the more than 1,000 residents of Temacapulin (Temaca), Acasico and Palmarejo who will be directly affected.
The Zapotillo Dam, in which the government would invest 8 million pesos, would not only force the resettlement of 1,000 residents in the three closest communities, but also affect another 15,000 residents who live in the surrounding areas. It would flood approximately 4,816 hectares of fertile soil which has been the livelihood of farmers in this area for years.
Jose Merced Aramburo, one of the protestors who spoke with El Reportero outside the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco, said that the Mexican government, “never called the town to consult with them about the construction of the dam, they simply arrived to say: You are going to be moved.” Like Aramburo, more than 1,000 residents of Jalisco would loose property which has been in their family for years. In constructing the dam, the Verde River, which crosses Jalisco, would accumulate until 500 cubic meters of water was collected.
This would be principally sent to the industrial city of Leon, Guanajuato, which according to environmental impact studies wastes more than 40 percent of its drinking water due to leaks in the storage system.
However, the communities’ stance against the construction of the dam go far beyond the loss of their land. In 2005 when the then president Vicente Fox announced the future construction of the dam, the farmers and wage earners of Temaca could not avoid thinking that the principal beneficiaries of the water coming from this zone would be the ranches, the businesses and the industries that the Fox family own in Leon.
In spite of five years of harassment from the government and the pressure that Temaca, Acasico and Palmarejo experience daily, none of the community members have backed down. The protests, the signs and the resistance continue in the face of a government that is deaf to the voices of the people. The people of Temaca say that they will stay where they are, to see if the government dare to drown them.
Representative from the Mexican consulate in San Francisco did not return the calls from El Reportero to respond to questions about their version of the facts.
