On October 28th, young people from 16 Zapotec communities in Oaxaca, organized in the Peoples United Coordination for the Care and Defense of Water (COPUDA), expressed the need for the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) to fulfill its commitment and issue a Decree as agreed a year ago to allow indigenous communities to freely decide on the right to water.
“We are heirs to the water. We are defending what is Mother Earth, the care of water and the environment. We demand, Mr. President (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador), that you recognize us as indigenous peoples and that you sign the decree that was pending before this pandemic”, they said.
Through the social networks of “Flor y Canto”, an organization that has accompanied these communities for several years, the young people declared: “We ask and demand that our government guarantee access to water, because the water belongs to the people and for the people.”
For more information in Spanish:
Vídeo Jóvenes Unidos en una sola Voz (Flor y Canto, 28 de octubre de 2020)
Conagua “simula” y deja a la deriva a 16 comunidades de Oaxaca al no firmar decreto que permita decidir sobre el derecho al agua (IstmoPress, 28 de octubre de 2020)
Piden jóvenes que se respete su derecho humano al agua (Zona Roja, 28 de octubre de 2020)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Oaxaca: Marcha Copuda para exigir cumplimiento de acuerdos a Conagua (October 13, 2020)
Oaxaca: COPUDA Urges CONAGUA to Publish Decree to Guarantee Right to Water for Zapotec Communities in Central Valleys (August 11, 2020)
Oaxaca: COPUDA Urges CONAGUA to Publish Decree to Guarantee Right to Water for Zapotec Communities in Central Valleys (August 11, 2020)
Oaxaca: Comunidades zapotecas logran impulsar modificación de veda de agua en Valles Centrales tras 13 años de lucha (January 11, 2020)
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