In mid-September, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) denied the consent of environmental impact to the South American transnational company Generación Enersi, SA de CV to install a hydroelectric dam in San Felipe Usila, in the Chinanteca area of the state of Oaxaca. This was reported by Rutilo Lorenzo Felipe, municipal president of San Felipe Usila. The communities in the area had asked him to act to prevent the implementation of this project that they are opposed to from the beginning. For this reason, the city council had offered to SEMARNAT proofs of the damages that a project of this nature could have, both for the flora and fauna of the area.
It should be remembered that in 2014 there was a first attempt by the same company to build a dam on the Perfume River. The new project “contemplated occupying the water of the four rivers of San Felipe Usila, constructing a tunnel that will channel the water, installing a turbine that would generate 121 gigawatts”, according to information published by Noticias Voz e Imagen. It would imply an initial investment of 350 million pesos.
The arguments presented by the municipality were validated by Semarnat, which determined to suspend the continuity of the project, at least in its current format.
For more information (In Spanish) :
Dan revés a hidroeléctrica en la Chinantla de Oaxaca (NVI Noticias, 14 de septiembre de 2018)
Semarnat niega permiso a proyecto hidroeléctrico en Usila (El Imparcial, 17 de septiembre de 2018)
Chinantecos contra hidroeléctrica en San Felipe Usila, Oaxaca (NVI Noticias, 11 de marzo de 2018)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Chiapas: Hydroelectric Dam Canceled in the Lacandon Jungle September 16, 2018
National/International: UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Publishes Report after Visit to Mexico August 21, 2018
Oaxaca: CODEDI Denounces Military Harassment and Persecution August 13, 2018
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