PBI-Mexico accompanies the conclusion of the Caravan for Water and Life in the Nahuatl community of Cuentepec

On April 23, PBI-Mexico tweeted:

“PBI accompanies the end of the Caravan for Water and Life, on April 23 and 24, in the Nahuatl community of Cuentepec, in Morelos. It is the outcome of a month of articulation of struggles in defense of land, territory and the environment in 9 states of the country.”

On Facebook, PBI-Mexico adds:

“PBI calls on the Mexican State to protect the people who defend the rights of indigenous peoples, water and the environment who suffer violations of their [human rights] as part of their fight against mega projects in Mexico.”

On January 15 and 16 of this year, PBI-Mexico accompanied the National Meeting of Struggles Against Gas Pipelines and Death Projects in the municipality of Juan C. Bonilla. The meeting took place at the Bonafont bottled water plant that had been reclaimed by Indigenous and local communities in August 2021.

The National Meeting expressed opposition to the Canadian company TC Energy’s Tuxpan-Tula gas pipeline, the Morelos gas pipeline (part of the Morelos Integral Project/PIM) and other megaprojects.

Pie de Pagina noted: “The final result of the Meeting was the announcement of the Caravan for Life that will depart on March 22.”

Earlier this week, Tamara Pearson reported in Truthout:

“For the launch, the caravan held a press conference and marched outside Bonafont, a water bottling plant that is owned by Danone. Local Nahua peoples had taken over the plant last year, but were evicted by the military in February.

The bottling plant is now guarded by security forces in full battle gear, with a wall of 20-liter water bottles and two steel fences to prevent Indigenous locals from returning. The group’s march past the plant was brief. Otomis, who had joined the caravan from Mexico City, shouted, “Water is not for sale. No more armed forces in our towns.”

Activists with the Indigenous Caravan for Water and Life argue that it is multinational corporations, often with governmental support, that are responsible for causing climate change, environmental damage and water shortages — rather than the regular dry season.”

“It’s not a drought, it’s looting” has been one of the main chants of the month-long caravan which kicked off in Puebla on March 22, and will run until April 24.

The caravan, one of the biggest demonstrations in recent years of Indigenous people’s defense of the environment, will cover nine states and visit Indigenous communities across Mexico each day for 34 days. These communities are standing up for their environmental rights and autonomy. Most are confronting megaprojects, where manufacturing, mining, extractive and commercial companies — often from the U.S. or Europe – have built massive amounts of infrastructure, such as hydroelectric plants and gas pipelines, to plunder the communities of their water and energy resources.

The violence against the land is reflected in the violence against people defending it. Last year, 25 such activists were murdered, with 238 total violent attacks recorded — making it the most violent year since 2014, when the Mexican Center for Environmental Rights (CEMDA) began keeping a tally.”

The full article by Tamara Pearson in Truthout can be read at “It’s Not a Drought, It’s Looting”: Water Rights Activists Organize in Mexico.

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