PBI-Mexico film ‘Children of the Water’ screened in Puebla prior to court ruling on dam

“Sow beauty and not the destruction of the land, Out Comexhidro”

On September 9, LadoB reported, “The Peace Brigades International (PBI) organization has made a short-film documentary titled ‘Los Hijxs del Agua’, which was presented on Tuesday, September 3 in the city of Puebla, with a subsequent conversation in which José Galindo, a member of the Tutunaku Community Council in Defence of the Ajajalpan River, spoke of the problem [his community faces].”

The problem is that the Ajajalpan River is endangered by the construction of the Puebla 1 hydroelectric project by Comexhidro.

The dam would generate electricity for Walmart Mexico.

The article continues:

“Together with Teresa Santiago, one of the protagonists of the short film, they explained that the defence [of the Ajajalpan River] has been going on for several years now and that the people are only looking to take care of the water, they are not looking for aggressions, violence or death, but to preserve life.”

“The video, spoken almost entirely in Totonaco, shows a ritual of the inhabitants of San Felipe Tepatlán and Ahuacatlán on the Ajajalpan River, where they ask it to take care of people who only want to arrive with death.”

“For three years, the defenders of the territory and the organizations that accompany them have denounced harassment, threats, an indigenous consultation full of irregularities and crimes, in addition to the serious and irreversible effects on the environment and the riverbed that would cause the Puebla 1 project.”

On July 30, LAdobe.com.mx reported that a constitutional hearing on the dam was held on June 11 and that a ruling (that would either approve or reject the dam) is expected within 90 business days.

The 14-minute documentary can be seen here. The full LadoB article (in Spanish) can be read here. More on this situation can be read in the PBI-Canada article PBI-Mexico expresses support for Totonac communities defending the Ajajalpan River.