On 28 January, workers from Mexican Petroleum (PEMEX) and the Ica-Fluor union displaced members of the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI) and other social organizations who were carrying out a sit-in at the Antonio Dovalí Jaime refinery in the port city of Salina Cruz. The protestors were demanding negotiations with the Secretary of Governance, Osorio Chong, to negotiate the question of the gas pipeline that will connect Jaltipan, Veracruz, to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. UCIZONI president Juana Inés Ramírez observed that the peoples of the Isthmus demand compensation for the pollution caused by the construction works: on 31 December 2014, “there was damage to cattle, rivers, and marine life.” More broadly, they demand compensation for the more than 30 disasters that have taken place in the past 2 decades, the definition of actions for environmental remediation and development in the region, as well as information and consultation regarding the Transisthmus Corridor Project.
During the displacement operation, dozens of people were beaten. It is reported that their assailants were wearing the orange PEMEX uniform, armed with machetes and stones.
For more information (in Spanish):
Atacan en Salina Cruz a integrantes de la Ucizoni por bloqueo de refinería (La Jornada, 28 de enero de 2015)
Trabajadores de Pemex desalojan a opositores al gasoducto en el Istmo(Proceso, 28 de enero de 2015)
Desalojan en Salina Cruz a indígenas que exigen indemnización a Pemex(Nss Noticias, 29 de enero de 2015)
Boletín de UCIZONI (28 de enero de 2015)
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