In a press conference held on the 27th July, a member of The Council of Unified Peoples for the Defense of the Río Verde (Copudever, El Consejo de Pueblos Unidos por la Defensa del Río Verde) in Tataltepec de Valdés, alongside the president of the Communal Lands Commission of Paso de la Reina, Juan Gómez Gómez, commented that the general assembly had revoked and cancelled the authorization, which on the 27th June 2007 had granted in writing permission for the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, Comisión Federal de Electricidad) and other departments to conduct studies of the land. The government-sponsored CFE has, however, ignored the opposition expressed by various indigenous communities, and maintains its decision to go ahead with the construction of the hydroelectric dam in community lands, that will run through the Río Verde in the Istmo of Oaxaca. This is in spite of the fact that those affected demand that the project is cancelled and have already mobilized themselves to stop the preliminary workers of the site.
The representative of Copudever, Juan Gómez Gómez, has demanded that the authorities respect the rights of the cooperative and the ‘free and informed’decision of the indigenous communities, as recognized by the internationally signed and ratified agreements of the Mexican government.
For more information, see
“Ejidatarios de Oaxaca se alistan para luchar contra presa de CFE”, La Jornada (27/07/2009)
“NO a la presa Paso de la Reina”, Prensa Indígena (07/03/2009)
“Rechazan pueblos la hidroeléctrica Paso de Reina en Oaxaca”, Cimacnoticias (21/05/2008)
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