Forum in Amador Hernandez (Photo@Noe Pineda)
On December 5, the “Forum on Defense of the Earth, Life and Territory” was held in the ejido of Amador Hernandez, in the Municipality of Ocosingo, Lacandon Jungle. About 1,000 people from communities in the region analyzed the problems they are experiencing, including several agrarian conflicts.
In their final declaration, they said: “We are against the introduction of the Environmental Gendarmerie and their entry into our territory. From now on we state that in the case that the corresponding authorities do not take our disagreement into account … we will carry out more actions against the introduction of the Environmental Gendarmerie until we are heard.”
They questioned whether the presence of the Environmental Gendarmerie “for the supposed care and conservation of the environment” responds to other objectives: “We know that the true objective of this security force is a strategy for the destruction of our communities, our cultures and our organizations, it represents the violation of our rights and that its true intention is to guarantee the entry of transnational corporations dedicated to the extraction of natural resources for the benefit of big capital.”
According to the authorities, the Environmental Gendarmerie will “have the mission of preventing administrative crimes and faults in environmental matters, due to its security and police operational model.” It is envisaged that it will be installed in 61 points of the country, among others, the Lacandon Jungle, Montes Azules and the monarch butterfly reserves, Pico de Orizaba, Nevado de Toluca and Tulum.
It should be noted that on the same day, President Enrique Peña Nieto was in the Lacandon Jungle in the framework of an activity, which was part of the COP (Conferences of the Parties) 13 under the heading “Integrating Biodiversity for Wellbeing”. In that context, he instructed the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development to prevent the regularization of irregular settlements; and the Secretariats of Energy and Economy, to ensure that there are no hydrocarbon or mining explorations or holdings in the region.
For more information in Spanish:
Con la amenaza de la instalación de la Gendarmería Ambiental se realiza Foro sobre Defensa de la Tierra en Amador Hernández, Chiapas (Serapaz, 7 de diciembre de 2016)
Pueblos de Chiapas dicen no a la Gendarmería Ambiental (Somos el Medio, 8 de diciembre de 2016)
Se pronuncian en contra de la Gendarmería Ambiental comunidades de la Selva Lacandona y Montes Azules (Desinformémonos, 8 de diciembre de 2016)
Peña Nieto destaca acciones para preservar la Selva Lacandona (La Jornada, 5 de de diciembre de 2016)
Los de abajo (Artículo de opinión, La Jornada, 10 de diciembre de 2016)
COP 13- Conservación y áreas de salvaguarda, la cara más reciente del modelo extractivo en México (Otros Mundos, 8 de diciembre de 2016)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Nacional: Despliegue de elementos de la División de Gendarmería en 6 estados de México (3 de septiembre de 2014)
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