Residents of the San Martín Tepetlixpa neighborhood briefly blocked one lane of the Mexico-Querétaro highway, heading towards Mexico City, to demand the construction of a retaining wall along the bank of the Western Interceptor Canal. They also stated that the canal is a source of infection for residents of the region.
The group of at least 50 people descended from the neighborhood onto the highway and, at 9:55 a.m., blocked the side lanes of the important thoroughfare for at least 15 minutes to demand a solution from the National Water Commission (Conagua).
The residents reported that this is a long-standing demand to the federal agency for maintenance of the canal bank and the construction of the retaining wall, as people, cars, and animals have fallen into the canal.
The Emisor Poniente canal crosses municipalities in the western part of the Valley of Mexico. It is piped near Tlalnepantla, but continues in the open air through Cuautitlán Izcalli, Cuautitlán, and Teoloyucan, although in the latter there are sections with retaining walls.
This is the same canal where five students from the Faculty of Higher Studies (FES) Cuautitlán died when the car they were traveling in plunged into the waterway during a rainstorm on the afternoon of May 20, 2025, in the Cuautitlán Izcalli area.
Accidents are frequent in this waterway, where other people have lost their lives. This morning, a small group passed by a cross next to the canal, where a local resident died.
The residents also demanded that the safety problems posed by the canal be addressed.
State government officials met with the residents and promised a meeting with representatives from the National Water Commission (Conagua) next Friday, which led to the residents leaving.
The protesters’ presence briefly affected traffic on the highway’s shoulder, forcing drivers to use the center lanes.
Source: jornada
