Commemoration of the Acteal Massacre. Photo: Las Abejas Area of Communication
Friday, December 22, marked 26 years since the Acteal Massacre, a state crime that shocked the country for the genocidal policy implemented by the Mexican government in Chiapas.
For the occasion, the civil society organization Las Abejas de Acteal—active for 31 years in the region—together with the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center, spoke out against the lack of commitment of the Mexican state to advance toward justice and punishment for the perpetrators of the crime. “Those responsible continue unpunished. This is an example of the negationist posture and a commitment to forgetting and apathy,” the organizations claimed in a communique.
After 26 years of seeking justice, Las Abejas de Acteal emphasize that they have recently received two notifications from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The case of the Acteal Massacre is nearing discussion and the publication of a Merits Report, which “is important for the recognition of this state crime as one against humanity for which the entire Mexican state is responsible,” Las Abejas stated in a communique.
The Tzotzil organization considers that, “although late, it opens a small window of advancement toward justice and reparation for the survivors, although we know that it will not be complete.”
The Indigenous Tzotziles emphasize the responsibility of government officials who were in power at that time. Specifically, they name the President of the Republic, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León; the Secretary of Government, Emilio Chuayffet; as well as the Secretary of National Defense, General Enrique Cervantes Aguirre, who was even decorated by Andrés Manuel López Obrador in October of this year.
Other officials involved are the ex-Governor of Chiapas, Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro; the State Secretary of Government, Homero Tovilla Cristiani; the State Subsecretary of Government, Uriel Jarquin, and the Municipal President of Chenalhó, Jacinto Arias, among others.
Las Abejas de Acteal emphasize that their struggle and resistance is against social amnesia, which they consider “important to reclaim justice and name those responsible for organizing and implementing the strategy of extermination toward the civil population in the context of the Zapatista insurrection, as well as pointing out the responsibility of complicit government officials.”
Commemoration of the Acteal Massacre. Photo: Las Abejas Area of Communication
In addition to calling out federal and state authorities for obstructing justice for Acteal, they also denounced what they consider to be the “resounding” failure of both the federal government led by AMLO, and the state government led by Rutilio Escandón Cadenas, in in issues related to social justice, peace, and security.
“They have encouraged community division through governmental projects, which represent the continuity of the counterinsurgency by means of manipulation and cooptation. They have opted to embrace, empower, and reward military power, and they have authorized an implicit pardon for political violence carried out in the 1990’s,” the organizations condemned.
For that, Las Abejas de Acteal consider the current situation in Chiapas to be critical.
“We are immersed in a spiral of violence that converges with and involves the historical processes of demanding justice…the crisis of violence in the border zone, which generates serious human rights violations like forced displacement, disappearances, assassinations, extorsion, torture, kidnappings, population control, and silenced communities and municipalities. All of the above in the context of an electoral process that further exacerbates the violence in the territories,” they detail in the communique.
However, the Maya Tzotziles assured that, “In spite of this dark panorama, the processes of struggle and community resistance are constantly articulating, walking the paths of peace, autonomy, territorial defense, and care for Mother Earth, our common home.”
This past Wednesday, December 13, the Senate approved the request from president Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the presence of US military personnel in Mexican territory.
By majority vote the Senate approved the participation of joint military activities between personnel of the US Army and members of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA). With that, they also authorized the entry of weapons, ammunition, and tactical equipment into Mexico.
The arrival of the North American military delegation, composed of 11 members of the US Special Operations Command North, is scheduled for January 22, 2024.
According to the request made by AMLO last November, the military activities in Mexican territory will last until March 22, 2024. Among their objectives is to provide training to SEDENA Special Forces in the Mexican municipalities of Temamatla and San Miguel de los Jagüeyes, to the east and north of Mexico City respectively.
As approved by the Senate, SEDENA must submit a report on the results of the training received from the U.S. Military.
Mobilization of the EZLN in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. March 2022. Photo: Tercios Compas/ Enlace Zapatista
November 25 marked one year since the arbitrary detention of José Díaz Gómez, Support Base of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, who remains in pretrial detention in the CERSS No. 17, also known as “El Bambú,” located in Catazajá, in the north of Chiapas.
According to a communique from the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba), Díaz Gómez, Indigenous Ch’ol accused of robbery, “remains in a serious situation which threatens his human dignity due to the fabrication of a crime against him.”
“The accusation is based on the fabrication of a crime by the State Attorney General’s Office. This has been the mode of conduct of this institution which operates a pattern of fabricating guilt and criminalization against human rights defenders in complicity with local judicial power,” contextualized the human rights center.
Frayba details that the process of pretrial detention against Díaz Gómez has been “maliciously prolonged.” Also, they point out that given the lack of evidence against Díaz Gómez, the Selva District Prosecutor’s Office and the Magistrate’s Court have worked together to simulate a process, at the cost of his freedom.
For example, both instances have extended the investigation times with the objective of delaying the trial, “knowing that it is impossible to prove any responsibility against him,” sustained the organization.
Another point to highlight is the lack of due diligence on part of the Chiapas Public Defenders Office. Just over two months ago, a new public defender was assigned to Díaz Gómez, who has still not interviewed him to get up to date on his legal situation and to know the necessities in order to seek justice. “Consequently, the public defender has not carried out the necessary actions to push for his prompt release,” denounces Frayba.
Faced with this scenario, this past November 15, Díaz Gómez solicited before the Magistrate’s Court of Catazajá, the modification of his pretrial detention to carry out his process in conditional freedom.
The Support Base of the EZLN has two kids who are minors and a wife “who also suffer the consequences of the detention, affecting their family life, as well as their physical, psychological, and economic situation, which is why a change in the pretrial condition is a necessity to lessen such impacts. To date, there has been no response to this request,” contextualized the human rights organization.
The EZLN has denounced that José Díaz Gómez is kidnapped by the government of Chiapas for being a Zapatista. The same occurred in the case of Manuel Gómez Vázquez, who recently recuperated his freedom after nearly three years arbitrarily detained.
On November 16, Manuel Gómez Vázquez, Support Base of the EZLN, was freed after nearly three years of arbitrary detention. Photo: Frayba
The human rights center, based in San Cristóbal de las Casas, emphasizes that there is a pattern of criminalization in other parts of Mexico as well, against “Indigenous peoples who oppose the imposition of megaprojects being pushed by the current government. They highlight the existence of arrests warrants against populations opposed to the Interoceanic Train” in reference to the persecution against member of the Binizaá community of Puente Madera, in Oaxaca.
In Chiapas, there are the cases of Cesar Hernández and José Luis Gutiérrez, Tseltal human rights defenders criminalized for opposing the imposition of a National Guard barracks in their territory. Also, the case of five Tseltal human rights defenders of San Juan Cancúc, who were sentenced to 25 years in prison for defending their territory against megaprojects like the “highway of cultures.”
“The fabrication of crimes against Indigenous organizers represents a selective strategy of the current federal government, seeking to cause an inhibiting effect on the communities and people who defend their rights, highlighting that most of them are directed against Indigenous land defenders,” says Frayba.
The deployment of police and military forces in El Salvador during the ongoing state of exception, first declared in March of 2022, has set the conditions for serious human rights violations.
The young man Levi Morales is a member of the Movimiento Indígena para la Integración de las luchas de los Pueblos Ancestrales de El Salvador (MILPA). On November 11, 2022, when he was finishing a day of agricultural work in the municipality of Nahuizalco, he was detained by elements of the National Civil Police (PNC).
At that moment, more than seven months had passed since the state of exception was enacted by the Legislative Assembly in March 2022. Under the argument of combatting gang violence, which at the end of that month killed more than 80 people in only three days, the president Nayib Bukele requested and congress decreed the suspension of the right to legal defense of people detained, and extended the term of administrative detention up to 15 days.
Morales became one of the people captured and accused without evidence of pertaining to a criminal gang. Held for more than a year, the authorities never turned over evidence connecting the young Indigenous man to gang activity. Thus, on November 20, a court in the city of Santa Ana ordered his release.
Despite the request coming from the same National Attorney General’s Office, Morales was captured again following his release without any explanation or charges against him. He was transferred to the prison of Usulután, nearly 200 kilometers from his home.
During a press conference carried out on Monday, December 4, Ariela González, member of the Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derecho (FESPAD) and the defense lawyer of Levi Morales, pointed out that the authorities never notified the family of his release nor of the charges against him in his recapture. “We do not know who ordered his recapture nor the crimes of which he is being charged, if there is a new accusation or if we are facing a double persecution of the same supposed crime,” explained González.
Levi’s father, Silverio Morales, an Indigenous leader from the western part of the Central American country, has raised his voice to demand the liberation of his son. “I am a little afraid of doing this press conference because of the personal persecution against my family, because something similar happened to me last time. The military and police began to persecute me. We ask the public prosecutor’s office to release him,” he demanded.
Also present at the press conference were members of MILPA, La Mesa por la Soberania Alimentaria, La Asociación de Estudiantes de Derecho, and La Mesa Permanente por la Justicia Laboral, organizations that have documented due process violations in the case of the Morales family.
Attacks on Political Organizers
Something the different organizations accompanying the case of Levi Morales see in common is that the case is representative of what is happening repeatedly in El Salvador, specifically with arbitrary detentions as a strategy of repression of social struggles.
Ángel Flores, also a member of MILPA, explained that there is currently a process of reconcentration of land taking place in the Central American country through different economic initiatives that continue the dispossession of the communities, like projects planned for the coastal strip of El Salvador.
“In areas where there is a presence of Indigenous peoples and campesinos, there exists many interests in expanding mega investment projects, hotel complexes, processes of accelerated urbanization, and also of the turistification of territories…it is no coincidence that they are persecuting Indigenous leaders, environmentalists, women’s collectives, among other organized sectors that are active in our country, as they are an obstacle to the appropriation of the natural resources,” said Flores.
The deployment of police and military forces in El Salvador during the ongoing state of exception, first declared in March of 2022, has set the conditions for serious human rights violations.
The member of MILPA stressed that the attacks against Indigenous peoples are due to the fact that they are antagonistic to the forms of life that the economic and political elites seek to impose on the Central American country. “The attacks obey the interests of appropriating what is currently in the hands of the Indigenous and campesino communities of El Salvador,” he argues.
Militarization
On Tuesday, December 5, Amnesty International published a report where they accuse the Salvadoran government, led by president Nayib Bukele, of committing “repression and the regression” of human rights in El Salvador.
According to Amnesty International, the situation of repression represents one of the greatest crises in the country since the end of the armed conflict 32 years ago. Furthermore, the organization denounced that the policies of the authorities consolidate a “punitive model of public security,” which they constantly seek to make invisible.
Through interviews and monitoring, the human rights organization identified the restriction of the rights of the Salvadoran people and the implementation of policies that “expand militarization, repressive practices, and permanent legal reforms contrary to international human rights standards—particularly those related to a fair trial. This has set the conditions for serious human rights violations,” said Ana Piquer, director of Amnesty International for the Americas.
Arrests during the state of exception in El Salvador. Photo: La Prensa Gráfica
According to the organization, the illegal and massive detentions, forced disappearances, torture, and deaths which have occurred in state custody during the state of exception “are the product of a high level of state coordination and are taking place with the knowledge of the highest up authorities who many times incentivize and justify them.” Among the consequences of these actions, there exists a rise in patterns of self-censorship among journalists, media outlets, and social organizations.
The report shows that the state has a policy of systemic torture against people that have been captured during the state of exception, accused of pertaining to criminal gangs.
The detention of Levi Morales is one among more than 71,000 people detained as of October of this year, 19 months after the beginning of the state of exception, which continues to be extended every month by the Legislative Assembly.
Socorro Jurídico Humanitario is an organization that has documented the systemic detention of activists. According to their data, 17 union leaders have been detained and accused of criminal association and terrorism.
Ángel Flores of MILPA asserted that the case of Morales is an arbitrary detention, demanding that the Salvadoran government “end the criminalization, persecution, and incarceration of Indigenous, environmental, union, and social leaders along with their families, like is the case on this occasion…it is an extremely worrying situation because defenders of human rights, of the environment, and of collective and individual rights are being persecuted.”
Pavel Uliánov Guzmán, spokesperson for the CSIM, on the microphone.
On Monday, November 27, members of the Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán (CSIM) legally denounced Juan Calderón Castillejo, municipal president of Erogarícuaro, for threats made against Pavel Uliánov Guzmán, the spokesperson for the Indigenous organization.
Through a communique, the CSIM explained that the municipal president had threatened to forcefully disappear their spokesperson if he continued pushing for processes of autonomy amongst the Indigenous communities in the region.
The council recalls that in June, Uliánov was already threatened with forced disappearance for promoting a consultation in the Purépecha community of San Francisco Uricho, in Erogarícuaro, to decide whether to begin a process of self-government, moving away from the political party system.
According to the CSIM, Calderón Castillejo is a public official who is known for acting against autonomous processes of Indigenous peoples. “It is enough to remember that he presented 18 legal resources against the self-government of the community of Jarácuaro, and on 2 occasions he prevented the free, previous, and informed consultation in the community of San Francisco Uricho,” they said in a communique.
Activities of the CSIM in Indigenous communities in Michoacán.
The indigenous council even says that the municipal president threatened to kill, through his political operators, councilwomen of the Electoral Institute of Michoacán (IEM). For this he has been declared a person non grata and a traitor of Indigenous peoples and communities.
“We raise our voice to hold Juan Calderón Castillejo directly responsible for the physical well-being of our spokesperson Pavel Uliánov Guzmán, as well as other members of the CSIM. Castillejo is a transgressor of the collective rights of the Indigenous peoples, seeking reelection as municipal president,” the organization says.
Autonomies in Construction
The CSIM is an organization which brings together representatives and authorities (civil, communal, and traditional) of 70 Indigenous communities of Michoacán, where Purépecha, Nahua, Otomí, and Mazahua peoples in the Western region of the country organize together.
In spite of the context of criminal violence, and in the face of the different threats of territorial dispossession, the work of the council has focused on the construction of autonomous processes in Indigenous communities in Michoacán.
Recently they have incorporated more communities into the work of the CSIM. On Monday, November 27, the Purépecha community of Patamban, in the municipality of Tangancícuaro, through a decision in their general assembly, began on its pathway of autonomy and self-government. Also, on November 21, the districts of 20 de Noviembre, Mapeco, and Valle Dorado, of the municipality of Uruapan, joined the organization.
The CSIM announced “a communal political counter campaign against traitors of the Indigenous communities,” through which they denounced the municipal president of Erogarícuaro, as well as the municipal president of Hidalgo and the National Institute of Indigenous peoples (INPI) in Michoacán, for legal actions against the autonomies of communities like San Matías el Grande, San Francisco Uricho, and Nahuatzen.
According to the CSIM, in addition to the actions of Calderón Castillejo, the municipal president of Hidalgo, José Luis Téllez Marín, has refused to transfer funds directly to the Otomí community of San Matías el Grande.
They denounce that the INPI, through their representative in Michoacán, Celerino Felipe Cruz, “has intervened and litigated against self-government.” Furthermore, they denounce the delay in paperwork for the reception of resources, as happened with the Indigenous community certification, “a requirement unilaterally imposed by the INPI.”
They also announced that in 10 Indigenous communities, with approximately 55, 000 voters, it was decided to not allow the installation of voting booths for the next election on June 2, 2024. Nor will they allow the entrance of candidates to carry out their political party campaigns.
Disappearances, Never Again
Members of the CSIM remember that during the 70’s, the Guzmán Cruz family of which their spokesperson Pavel Guzmán is a part, were victim of forced disappearance.
Five members of the family (Amafer Guzmán Cruz, Armando Guzmán Cruz, José de Jesús Guzmán Jiménez, Adenauer Solón Guzmán Cruz and Venustiano Guzmán Cruz) were forcefully disappeared by elements of the Federal Security Directorate (DFS).
Members of the Guzmán Cruz family disappeared during the Dirty War in Mexico.
Currently the case is being reviewed by the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights (CIDH), “for which we make a categorical and energetic call on the government of the republic and the government of Michoacán to establish guarantees to not repeat what has already happened. Never again forced disappearance against political organizers and social fighters,” sustains the C
Silica sand mine in Jáltipan. Photo: Aldo Santiago
As part of the project Tracing Green Capital in Mesoamerica, Avispa Midia documented the vast deployment of machinery in the Isthmus of Veracruz in the south of the state. The highways from San Juan Evangelista to Coatzacoalcos are flooded with workers, semi-trucks, and materials. The nearshoring boom—the relocation of productive chains to geographies closer to the market—is driving the consolidation of strategic projects for the reorganization of southeastern Mexico.
The zone is key for the articulation of 10 industrial parks being planned for the Interoceanic Corridor project which also passes through Oaxaca. There are five industrial parks, or Development Poles of Well-being (PODEBI) as they are being called officially, planned each for Oaxaca and Veracruz.
Map made by GeoComunes
Furthermore, southern Veracruz is a nodal point for the interconnection of the Maya Train, the Dos Bocas refinery, and a series of infrastructure projects including highways, ports, and airports showing the commitment to consolidate the foundation for the exportation of commodities toward markets in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
These initiatives form part of the articulation of megaprojects in the region meant to accelerate the extraction of hydrocarbons including unconventional ones that are more harmful to the environment like open-pit mining and agroindustry.
Chinameca
“A fundamental part” is the description of the National Control Center for Natural Gas (CENEGAS) about the compressor station located in Chinameca, Veracruz.
Photo: Aldo Santiago
This station functions for the compression and storage of gas for its subsequent distribution and commercialization. The stations are interconnected via collection pipelines at the hydrocarbon extraction sites.
An analysis carried out by CartoCrítica highlights that the main production sites in Mexico are the Gulf of Mexico, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Veracruz, and Chiapas. According to CartoCrítica, in Mexico there exists a network of 1,291 projects with a length of more than 34,000 kilometers.
Photo: Renata Bessi
Furthermore, we can add the construction of the Southeast Gateway Gas Pipeline, a 715-kilometer underwater pipeline that will connect with the Jáltipan-Salina Cruz pipeline, and thus a terminal on the coast of Oaxaca. From there, gas will be exported to Europe and Asia.
The same pipeline is planned to supply gas to the Yucatan Peninsula, the Maya Train, and the PODEBI industrial parks
In June of 2023, Abraham David Alipi Mena, general director of CENEGAS, announced the rehabilitation of this station, which daily moves 300 million cubic feet of natural gas.
The general director of CENEGAS, pertaining to the Secretariat of Energy, highlighted the importance of the station for the transport of gas from the south to the north of Mexico and vice versa. They seek to increase production of up to 800 million cubic feet of natural gas daily.
Photo: Aldo SantiagoPhoto: Aldo Santiago
Photo: Aldo Santiago
“The idea is to provide greater flexibility to the system, and with that be able to meet the existing needs, and above all the increase in the production of natural gas,” remarked the head of the agency that manages the transportation and storage of hydrocarbon.
Chinameca also houses projects of at least four of the agroindustry giants in Mexico: Bachoco, Campi, Maseca, and Oleofinos.
The latter belongs to the Oleomex group, a conglomerate of 15 companies involved in the planting, processing, and distribution of palm oil. Among their principal clients are multinational companies like Cargill, PepsiCo, and Nestle.
The processing plant, the first in the state specializing in the refining of vegetable oils and fats, was inaugurated in 2010. It was said that the plant would provide employment in the region, and it was promoted as a source for the production of biodiesel, thus boosting oil palm monoculture in the south of Veracruz.
The investment for the processing plant was part of the Programa Estratégico Trópico Húmedo to promote cocoa, rubber, and oil palm monoculture in the south-southeast of Mexico. At the same time, Oleofinos plans the installation of their infrastructure in the region to potentially export palm oil toward the southern United States, Central America, and the Caribbean.
In order to convert the palm oil from a liquid to a solid or a semisolid substance, the hydrogenation process is used with catalytic elements such as nickel and chromium, which are highly toxic residues derived from industrial activity.
According to the Registry of Emissions and the Transfer of Contaminants, elaborated by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, as of 2021, the Oleofinos processer was releasing elements like chromium, nickel, and carbon dioxide into the air, water, and soil in Chinameca.
Mecayapan
Veracruz is the fourth largest producer of palm oil in the country, behind Chiapas, Campeche, and Tabasco. According to the Mexican Federation of Palm Oil, in the south of Veracruz there are more than 9,000 hectares of the monocrop.
Between the municipalities of Acayucan and Mecayapan there is 40% (3,169.5 hectares) of palm oil plantations in the region and state. Mecayapan is the largest producer, registering in 2021 21% of Veracruz’s total production, with more than 15,000 tons of fresh fruit bunches.
Beyond private investment, the state has supported with the distribution of tons of chemical fertilizers like “Triple 17” to thousands of farmers in the south of Veracruz.
The Mexican Council for the Development of Oil Palm has localized between 2 and 4 million hectares that have high or medium potential for the production of palm oil in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Campeche.
You might be interested in- La Encrucijada’s Dilemma: The Greenwashing of Oil Palm
“The idea is to provide greater flexibility to the system, and with that be able to meet the existing needs, and above all the increase in the production of natural gas,” remarked the head of the agency that manages the transportation and storage of hydrocarbon.
Chinameca also houses projects of at least four of the agroindustry giants in Mexico: Bachoco, Campi, Maseca, and Oleofinos.
The latter belongs to the Oleomex group, a conglomerate of 15 companies involved in the planting, processing, and distribution of palm oil. Among their principal clients are multinational companies like Cargill, PepsiCo, and Nestle.
Photo: Aldo SantiagoPhoto: Aldo Santiago
The processing plant, the first in the state specializing in the refining of vegetable oils and fats, was inaugurated in 2010. It was said that the plant would provide employment in the region, and it was promoted as a source for the production of biodiesel, thus boosting oil palm monoculture in the south of Veracruz.
The investment for the processing plant was part of the ProgramaEstratégicoTrópicoHúmedoto promote cocoa, rubber, and oil palm monoculture in the south-southeast of Mexico. At the same time, Oleofinos plans the installation of their infrastructure in the region to potentially export palm oil toward the southern United States, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Photo: Aldo SantiagoPhoto: Aldo Santiago
In order to convert the palm oil from a liquid to a solid or a semisolid substance, the hydrogenation process is used with catalytic elements such as nickel and chromium, which are highly toxic residues derived from industrial activity.
According to the Registry of Emissions and the Transfer of Contaminants, elaborated by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, as of 2021, the Oleofinos processer was releasing elements like chromium, nickel, and carbon dioxide into the air, water, and soil in Chinameca.
Mecayapan
Veracruz is the fourth largest producer of palm oil in the country, behind Chiapas, Campeche, and Tabasco. According to the Mexican Federation of Palm Oil, in the south of Veracruz there are more than 9,000 hectares of the monocrop.
Between the municipalities of Acayucan and Mecayapan there is 40% (3,169.5 hectares) of palm oil plantations in the region and state. Mecayapan is the largest producer, registering in 2021 21% of Veracruz’s total production, with more than 15,000 tons of fresh fruit bunches.
Photo: Aldo Santiago
Beyond private investment, the state has supported with the distribution of tons of chemical fertilizers like “Triple 17” to thousands of farmers in the south of Veracruz.
The Mexican Council for the Development of Oil Palm has localized between 2 and 4 million hectares that have high or medium potential for the production of palm oil in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Campeche.
An analysis carried out by the Centro de Estudios para el Cambio en el campo Mexicano and the organization Mexico Via Berlin, highlights that the northern region of Acayucan and Mecayapan are expanding along the highways. The acceleration of expansion in the region interconnects with the Interoceanic Corridor and the Maya Train.
Photo: Aldo Santiago
Jáltipan
Petroleum coke is a residue from oil refining activities, and a derivative of coal. It is used as fuel for electric generators and has a high level of sulfur causing environmental problems.
Photo: Aldo Santiago
For more than ten years, in the municipality of Jáltipan, which has more than 40,000 inhabitants, a coke storage plant has been operating. Inhabitants claim that it is a source of contamination because the material is found in large quantities and in the open air.
Environmental organizations such as Chogosteros en Acción say that this contaminant causes illnesses ranging from pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis to liver and kidney failure, deformities, miscarriages, and cancer.
Photo: Aldo Santiago
The property is owned by the Spanish company ADN Energía, which since July of 2013 has commercialized more than 1 million tons of petroleum coke a year. The population of the region says that the company installed the open-air coke collection area above freshwater springs, covering a surface area of more than 25 hectares.
Photo: Renata BessiPhoto: Aldo Santiago
Covia is a North American company that presents itself as environmentally friendly and publicizes various “sustainable” and conservation initiatives.
It argues that its Jáltipan mining and processing plant has been recognized for “preserving and restoring the habitat near the operation.”
In contrast, its operations in the municipalities of Jáltipan and Chinameca, where they extract silica sand for the manufacture of glass, have been denounced as harmful to the environment. Local residents claim that the residues affect 10,000 inhabitants of the region and also contaminate the Chacalapa river.
Covia also has operations in Chihuahua, Puebla, Coahuila, and Guanajuato. The minerals that they extract are zinc, lead, silver, and iron.
