For more than 15 years, people interested in environmental protection, social struggle and the interest in stopping megaprojects that sought to harm biodiversity have joined together in Veracruz to create the Veracruz Assembly of Environmental Initiatives and Defense (Lavida).
Emilio Rodríguez and Leticia Valenzuela are part of this Assembly that has faced the actions of four state governments, represented by the PRI, PAN and Morena.
In its beginnings, its members say, they began their fight against the acts of aggression against the environment by the government of the PRI member Fidel Herrera Beltrán, followed by Javier Duarte de Ochoa, who, like the PAN member Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares, “had no choice but to declare himself against mining.”
In the current government, headed by the Morena member Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, no large projects have been developed, but permits have been issued for works that will affect the territory.
Who participates in Lavida?
For this reason, Lavida is made up of academics, biologists, activists, lawyers, historians, social leaders, environmentalists, farmers, artists and the general population.
The group’s struggle has been against mining, the growth of Laguna Verde, hydroelectric and mini-electric plants, environmental exploitation, the construction of highways, fracking, the gas pipeline, among other acts.
Lavida’s actions during Felipe Calderón’s government
It was in 2009 when some meetings were held related to the rejection of the actions that were considered as electoral fraud that led Felipe Calderón to the presidency of the Republic.
At that time, they received invitations to participate in brigades for the defense of oil, which, in turn, led the activists to fight against Granjas Carroll, located in the area of Perote and Puebla.
The fourth assembly of those affected by the environment was held, and later the fifth assembly was organized, with the participation of around 1,500 people in Chichicuautla, Puebla, one of the areas affected by the Carroll Farms.
“At the beginning we were the National Assembly of People Affected by the Environment, Veracruz branch, then we continued to organize with other groups and we created the State Forum of People Affected by the Environment, we thought that was what we were going to call ourselves, but the acronym sounded UGLY and, well, it seemed very ugly to us,” said Leticia Valenzuela.
The following year, a name came up that expressed the position regarding the environmental problems of the state.
“That is how the name of the Veracruz Assembly of Initiatives and Environmental Defense came up, an assembly because it was a form of behavior, of understanding between the members, of initiatives because it was not only about defending ourselves from what was happening in the face of initiatives and projects, but we also proposed things for the care of the environment and the territory based on daily action,” she said.
From there, people from various fields, sectors and broad social participation came together, which is what has “supported this movement.”
The Assembly has had several stages, achieving the flow of various members, as well as actions with the political situations that have occurred in the state.
“Lavida is the result of a process that has been taking place in Veracruz for a long time, which is Veracruz environmentalism, which has had many chapters. Since the first assemblies, several people gathered together, the struggle managed to bring us together because there was no space where the different environmental struggles could meet and share our journeys, pains and joys,” said Emilio Rodríguez.
In the history of Lavida there are acts that marked its members, such as the struggles of the peasants for their territory.
“The defense of the territory, of the environment belongs to all of us, we are nature. It is a struggle of those who can defend the environment with legal, environmental, social, biological resources and the strength of social organizations. The environmental struggle and resistance is not short-term, it is a struggle that will accompany humanity,” they commented.
Laguna Verde, a watershed for the environmental struggle
The claim and the struggle to prevent the installation of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant, in the municipality of Alto Lucero, is a watershed for the birth of this Assembly.
“I was very young, but I remember well the mobilizations that my parents took me to, kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, the mobilization that took place at that time to prevent the installation of the plant was impressive, it had already advanced a lot, the mobilization took place to prevent its implementation, it was difficult to stop a project of that magnitude,” Emilio explained.
This struggle was what triggered the growth of opinions in defense of the environment on the part of academics, organizations, residents and all those who found a fair demand in this process.
The claim and the struggle to prevent the installation of the Plant
With this struggle, works, songs and artistic representations were produced to reject this plant.
“Although several organizations gathered there was no space to meet to address the environmental issue, and so the development of productive projects, support networks, local tourism, rainwater harvesting projects and actions that continue were generated,” he said.
Fight against the Xalapa bypass
In 2002 another important chapter was written in the history of Lavida, which was the fight against the Xalapa bypass, since it was prevented from being built on the Pixquiac River and in the Bosque de Niebla.
Lawyers, academics, environmentalists, artists and communities participated in this fight, “with the law in hand it was proven that it was foolish and an unprecedented act of corruption to make the bypass in that area, it was contained and it was done in the northern area of Xalapa.”
“The people who were part of this movement stayed, the bypass was stopped and there were comrades who fought against the installation of the garbage dump in El Tronconal,” he said.
They fought against the Xalapa bypass, since it prevented construction on the Pixquiac River and in the Bosque de Niebla | Photo: Jesús Escamiroza | Diario de Xalapa
Veracruz is a threatened state
Both members of this group agree that Veracruz is widely diverse and, consequently, there is a constant threat.
They mentioned that it was the government of Fidel Herrera Beltrán that “opened the door for megaprojects” against which they have fought.
His successors, Javier Duarte de Ochoa and Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez had to demonstrate against mining and other activities because “they had no other choice.”
“This portfolio of projects that Fidel Herrera put on the table is mind-blowing, more than 112 mini hydroelectric projects, 4 percent of the Veracruz territory given over to mining, particularly in the area of Alto Lucero, Actopan, Tatatila, Las Minas, the Santa Martha reserve, fracking projects, gas pipelines, it is an important territorial deployment that takes place in Veracruz territory, there were political conditions because the government endorsed, promoted because there were large amounts of money,” he commented.
Throughout the history of this group, several of its members or those who agree with them in the environmental struggle have been victims of threats, kidnappings, intimidation, murders or kidnappings.
“The people who have achieved greater visibility, especially in the capital, have had a certain coverage so that this matter is against the other comrades, we have been concerned that these situations are not recorded in communities, where the promoters are because the companies, the governments use their tools to intimidate them,” they commented.
Emilio Rodríguez recalled that a serious event was the murder of Noé Vázquez in Amatlán de los Reyes, who lost his life on August 1, 2013, one day before the tenth National Meeting of the Mexican Movement Against Dams and in Defense of Rivers was to take place, which will bring together more than 500 environmentalists from different regions of the country.
“At that time there was the transition from Fidel to Duarte and it was a clear sign that we were being inconvenient, particularly for those who sought to create the El Naranjal hydroelectric project,” he commented.
Both said that one of the problems we have is “the arrogance of the rulers and of the people who are in charge of decision-making because they think that with the validity that an election gives them they have the right to do whatever they want with the territory, whether in the name of a neoliberal project or the Fourth Transformation.”
“There is arrogance, a lack of knowledge, of sensitivity to take into account the opinion of the people and what we want, there are projects that emerged with the Fourth Transformation and that are there, that is why they are running into injunctions, rejections, projects are proposed at their convenience, so the environmental resistance of the territory will continue, that will not disappear,” they added.
Source: diariodexalapa
