PBI-Mexico accompanies Codigo DH at public meeting on proposed hydro transmission line

On September 12, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project tweeted, “PBI accompanied @CodigoDH during the public information session on the SET – IXTEPEC POTENCIA transmission line project in Unión Hidalgo.”

IstmoPress News Agency has reported, “Defenders of the Zapotec community of Unión Hidalgo in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec with the accompaniment of the social organization Codigo DH, warned about the installation of a new electric transmission line, which will cover from Unión Hidalgo to Ciudad Ixtepec and that is promoted by Invex Bank and Siemens Gamesa.”

“They said that this transmission line will be used to transmit the electrical energy generated from the two wind farms that already operate in the community, such as ‘Piedra largo 1 y 2’ owned by the wind company ‘Desarrollos Eólica Mexicanos’ and three more projects ‘Gunaa Sicarú’ of the wind company of France and Palmitas 1 and 2 developed by Siemens Gamesa and which will cover three other locations such as: Ixtepec, Ixtaltepec and Juchitán.”

The article highlights that it was the defenders who requested the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) hold an informational meeting on September 12 so that the community knows what this project is about and the environmental impact that could occur. This is the public meeting PBI-Mexico accompanied.

The PBI-Mexico briefing paper Wind Farms and Concerns about Human Rights Violations in Oaxaca states, “Throughout 2013, PBI observed with concern an increase in the level of violence in the context of wind farms, particularly against HRDs [human rights defenders] and community leaders whose work involves the defence of those affected by these developments.”

PBI-Mexico has previously noted, “Because of the security risks they face, PBI has accompanied the Committee for the Integral Defence for Human Rights ‘Gobixha’ (Comité de Defensa Integral de Derechos Humanos ‘Gobixha’, Código-DH) since its creation in 2011.”

Further reading: PBI-Mexico accompanies Indigenous Zapotec group opposed to industrial wind power megaprojects on their territory (July 20, 2019)