PBI-Mexico accompanies Race for Life and Memory that Flourishes in memory of Nahua water defender Samir Flores

On February 20, PBI-Mexico tweeted:

“On February 19 and 20, PBI accompanied the Race for Life and Memory that Flourishes, organized in the community of Amilcingo, Morelos in commemoration of Samir Flores, a social fighter and defender of #humanrights of the @fpdtampt [People’s Front in Defence of Land and Water]. #SamirLives #NoToThePIM #OutBonafont #AltepelmecalliWATER.”

Nahua land defender Samir Flores Soberanes was shot twice in the head at his home in the town of Amilcingo in Morelos state, 130 kilometres south of Mexico City on February 19, 2019. He was an opponent of the Proyecto Integral Morelos (the integral project for Morelos), which includes a pipeline, thermoelectric plant and river diversion.

La Jornada further reports:

“On the fourth anniversary of the death of the social fighter, the members of the [People’s Front in Defense of Territory, Water of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala] (FPDTA-MPT), as well as teachers and residents of Amilcingo, municipality of Temoac, organized the first Race for Life and Memory that Flourishes, with more than 200 participants of different categories (preschool, primary, secondary, high school and free).

Juan Carlos Flores Solis, a member of the FPDTA-MPT and Samir’s comrade in struggle, said in an interview that the demand of the front is justice and punishment for those responsible for the murder, which went around the world and continues to give. He said it is not explained how it is that four years later the murder has not been clarified and remains unpunished.”

La Coperacha adds:

“Samir, originally from Amilcingo, was an opponent of the Morelos Integral Project and the Huexca Thermoelectric Plant, which began test operations at the end of December and already left Plan de Ayala ejidatarios without water, according to complaints made at the time.”

Additionally, Des Informémonos notes upcoming mobilizations related to “the water crisis, the dispossession of water and the contamination of aquifers caused by companies and governments in Mexico” includes the Global Action against the dispossession of Water and for the right to Life (March 22), the Global Action against War and the Militarization of our peoples (April 10) and the Third National Assembly in the Original People of Xochimilco to give continuity to the work achieved in the recent Second National Assembly for Water and Life (August 12-13).

The full statement from the People’s Front in Defense of Land and Water Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala on the murder of Samir Flores can be read here.

PBI-Mexico has accompanied the Peoples’ Front since early 2020.

PIM: The PIM (Morelos Integral Project) megaproject includes a gas pipeline that crosses three states, a thermoelectric plant in Huexca, and an aqueduct that will draw 50 million liters of water per day from the Cuautla River to cool the plant’s turbines. The megaproject was built by the Spanish companies Abengoa, Elecnor and Enagas and the Italian company Bonatti. In December 2021, Enagás and Elecnor sold their ownership of the pipeline to the Sydney, Australia-based Macquarie Group.

Bonafont: The Bonafont bottled water plant in the city of Juan C. Bonilla has taken more than 1,400,000 litres of water per day over the past 25 years. On February 15, 2022, the National Guard and State Police forcibly evicted the Indigenous occupation of the bottled water plant. Bonafont is owned by the Paris-based Danone. The People’s Front has called for a boycott of Danone products.