The VII Meeting of the Mexican Movement of Those Affected by Dams and in Defense of Rivers (MAPDER, Movimiento de Afectados por las Presas y Represas en México y en Defensa de los Ríos) took place Paso de la Reina in the municipality of Jamiltepec, Oaxaca between February 5 and 7. The final declaration of the meeting celebrated the temporary suspension of the construction of the Arcediano and La Parota dams and reaffirmed their opposition to the project known as the “Paso de la Reina Multiple Uses Hydraulic Exploitation” in Oaxaca, “El Zapatillo” in Jalisco and the Manzanillo Liquid Natural Gas Terminal at the lagoon in Cuyutlan, Colima. The organization denounced the construction of dams which has always signified the “historic and systematic divestment of natural resource, traditions and the ways of life of indigenous, campesino communities and original peoples of the country,” in addition to the social and environmental damages incurred by such construction that cannot be compensated for.
The declaration emphasized the organization’s rejection of the “process of privatization of water, energy and land; the criminalization and harassment of social movements in defense of territory; the imposition of high tariffs on the electricity consumption of rural communities throughout the country; the financing and interference of the World Bank that promotes such supposed development models,” and demanded the “definitive cancelation” of those projects that have been suspended. The document concludes with a call for “food and energy sovereignty from the people and for the people.”
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