Mario Luna, spokesman for the Vícam
tribe, Sonora, Mexico.
In 2010 the state government announced
the construction of an aqueduct which will remove millions of m3 of
water from the Yaqui River. Water is part
of the Yaqui ancestral
territory, partly
ratified in 1940 by presidential decree.
Although
we have won in court, the government does not stop the project and promotes hatred against us. When the
mobilization began they began prosecutions against many involved, and
many
families had their supports from government programs suspended.
They have also suffered harassment, audits,
direct
death threats, and kidnapping.
In its 74
years, the
territory granted by the decree has never been met. Hydroelectric
dams built in the 50s targeted only water for energy, and through the
National
Water Commission we were assigned
only 250 million m3 per
year from 800
million m3 capacity of the dam.
We were the last to
know – through press releases – of the aqueduct project. The
authorities did not consult us
even if they are obliged to by
various international regulations.
Only 8% of the
Sonora River, is
for citizen consumption; the rest supplies agriculture and livestock. Industry is growing in the
region. Ford expanded to almost double
its capacity; Holcim cement
installed
the second largest cement plant in Latin
America;
Heineken arrived and built the largest brewery in the world;
Coca-Cola
and Pepsico will expand their facilities
for processed
foods.
The state government repeatedly violates the suspensions
handed down by the federal judiciary. On July 15, the Federal Court
of Hermasillo overturned the decision of a
judge who authorized the
suspension –
for this reason we returned to blockade
the federal
highway as far as Vícam until
further notice. We resist peacefully,
but
we are in the eye of the hurricane.
“One does not
sell the earth
upon which
the people walk
.”
Tashunka Witko, 1840 –1877
from www.nyeleni.org
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