Residents of Otomí communities affiliated with the Indigenous Supreme Council of Michoacán (CSIM) took over three toll booths and two federal highways yesterday to demand solutions to the environmental and health damage caused by the Los Azufres geothermal power plant, in the municipality of Hidalgo, as well as measures to preserve Lake Zirahuén, the release of forest defender María Cruz Paz Zamora, and a genuine consultation among Indigenous peoples regarding the Indigenous Law, among other demands.
The organization’s leader, Pavel Guzmán, reported that the mobilizations began at 9:30 a.m. and continued as of press time, as no agreement was reached with state or federal authorities.
He specified that the protesters gathered at the Zirahuén toll booth on the Morelia-Lázaro Cárdenas highway; at the Taretan toll booth on the same highway; and at the Panindícuaro toll booth on the Western Highway, about 40 kilometers from the turnoff to Morelia.
They also blocked the main entrance to the Los Azufres plant because, they said, to date the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has not acknowledged the environmental damage it has caused in the area, which has resulted in dozens of cases of kidney failure —because the water they consume is contaminated with chemicals originating from the facilities— for more than four decades in Indigenous communities such as San Matías El Grande and Jarácuaro.
In June of this year, at least three communities in the municipality of Hidalgo filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission so that the CFE would take responsibility for the consequences of installing the geothermal power plant in the eastern part of the state.
According to studies by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, the facility has a total of 33 cooling ponds, 18 of which have reinforced concrete lining, three have geomembrane lining, and 12 still have no protection, “which means that 36.3 percent of its reservoirs are contaminating and do not comply with international standards,” Pavel Guzmán stated.
Researchers from the Michoacan University of Saint Nicholas of Hidalgo, as well as other higher education and specialized institutions, have demonstrated that the water throughout this area has some degree of contamination. However, there are locations where it is not suitable for human consumption, such as San Matías El Grande.
They demand the release of forest defender
Another demand from the protesters is the release of forest defender Paz Zamora, from the community of Ocumicho, municipality of Charapan, who has been imprisoned for more than 21 months over the alleged disappearance of Óscar Vargas Campos and Israel Vargas, natives of the town of Santa Cruz. “It has been demonstrated that she is innocent and that this is a fabricated accusation,” they maintained.
Regarding Lake Zirahuén, in the municipality of Salvador Escalante, they stressed that it is important to take effective measures to protect it because it is the only sustainable body of water of its kind in Michoacán. They criticized the fact that thousands of hectares around it have been cleared to grow avocados, a crop that generates large amounts of chemical waste.
“No to simulation,” they demanded, calling for appropriate consultations conducted according to international standards regarding the General Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “The highest authority in the communities is the general assemblies, and those are the ones who must be consulted,” they emphasized.
Source: jornada
