Faced with the threat of renewed mining in the area, hundreds of residents from several municipalities held two marches in Rayón, Tapalapa, and Pantepec, in the northern state of Chiapas.
The protesters warned that they came out to defend their territory because if mining companies begin operating, “it will be an environmental catastrophe that will affect thousands of residents.”
One of the marches, in which more than 500 people participated, took place on Friday and departed from the municipality of Rayón toward neighboring Pantepec.
The protest was called by the ejidatarios of San Isidro Las Banderas, part of Pantepec, where in 2003 six homes were lost and 15 more were damaged after a 100-meter-long by 15-meter-wide portion of land sank 20 meters due to mining activity.
After that event, the residents of San Isidro Las Banderas began a series of protests and succeeded in forcing the mining companies to withdraw from the area.
On Saturday, another march took place, organized by the San Agustín parish in Tapalapa, which departed from that town toward Pantepec. Participants noted that the mobilization, which was attended by Catholics from the 43 communities within the parish, took place in the context of the 10th anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Sii. “We must unite in the fight to defend our space and prevent mining projects from entering,” they expressed.
“Where there is wisdom, there is no ignorance,” “Let’s say yes to nature,” and “We can’t drink gold, but we can drink water,” residents wrote on poster boards as they marched while singing religious music.
They warned that if mining exploitation is allowed in the region, the water supply will soon run out, and “our children and grandchildren will pay the consequences.”
They emphasized that “a project that affects so many people cannot be approved without prior, free, and informed consultation because we have the right to know, and the authorities cannot manipulate or scare people by telling them that the government will take away their social programs.” Therefore, they called for organizing to prevent the exploitation.
Residents of Pantepec, Totolapa, Tapilula, Ixhuatán, and Tapalapa, who participated separately in the two demonstrations, emphasized: “From the mountains of northern Chiapas, the Zoque people are crying out: No to mining.”
Source: jornada
