by Root Force
Well, that didn’t take long. Less than a year after the government of the Mexican state of Guerrero made it clear that it would not approve any plans for La Parota dam, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has included the dam in its most recent report on its upcoming plans. The commission hopes to begin construction within the current six-year presidential term.
Maybe that’s why the government has started trying to introduce paramilitaries into the resisting communities.
Of course, the communities that would be flooded out by this dam (designed to provide electricity to the port of Acapulco and, eventually, hundreds of miles north into the southwest United States) have maintained a solid, no-compromise resistance and remain organized. And all the government’s attempts to expropriate their land have, thus far, been declared illegal and invalid.
Not to mention the fact that the Guerrero government is still committed not to approve La Parota if the dam would have any effect on the environment, if affected communities do not accept it, and if affected people are not fairly compensated. So it looks like the CFE has an uphill fight ahead of it.
The Council of Ejidos and Communities in Opposition to La Parota Dam (CECOP) already defeated La Parota once. They can do it again.
That said, wouldn’t it be great if we could tear down this whole oppressive system so that our friends and allies didn’t have to keep fighting the same battles over and over again?