@Istmo Press
On June 1st, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) canceled the electricity supply contract it had with the French semi-state Electricite de France (Electricity of France, EDF), which implied the cancellation of the Gunna Sicaru wind farm. This decision was notified to the Zapotec indigenous community of Union Hidalgo that had been fighting for five years to avoid the privatization and dispossession of their lands; and that the resolution of an injunction related to the consultation on this project was pending.
The EDF project intended to occupy an area of 4,700 hectares of communal land to place 115 wind turbines of 2,625 megawatts each, which would have made this wind power plant one of the largest in Latin America.
The community members and the ProDESC organization that was accompanying them celebrated the news considering it “a milestone in the defense of the right to land, territory and natural resources of indigenous communities and for corporate accountability in Mexico and Latin America.” Since 2017, they had begun “a process to defend the land and territory due to serious violations of community rights and failures to identify risks and implement protection measures in the development of their megaproject.” They denounced that “EDF signed contracts and agreements, developed parallel processes of information and communication, and contributed to the rupture of the social fabric in Union Hidalgo, affecting the prior, free and informed nature of the consultation carried out by Mexican authorities regarding such project.”
On another note, today they celebrate “achievements that make this litigation process the first of its kind undertaken by an indigenous community in the American Continent.”
For more information in Spanish:
CFE cancela proyecto eólico ‘Gunna Sicaru’ en Oaxaca (Aristegui Noticias, 4 de junio de 2022)
Cancelan proyecto eólico “Gunaa Sicaru” de EDF en tierras zapotecas (Pie de Página, 4 de junio de 2022)
Tras 5 años de lucha de Unión Hidalgo, Oaxaca, CFE cancela definitivamente parque eólico Gunaa Sicarú (El Universal, 3 de junio de 2022)
En Oaxaca, CFE cancela megaproyecto eólico Gunaa Sicarú (Contralínea, 2 de junio de 2022)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Oaxaca/Internacional: Relatores de la ONU recomiendan a EDF respetar los derechos humanos en el desarrollo del parque eólico Gunaa Sicarú (December 14, 2021)
sipazen.wordpress.com 