On June 2, the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission canceled the electricity supply contract of the Mexican subsidiary of the French giant EDF. In fact, this amounts to canceling the construction of the Gunaa Sicaru wind farm, a victory for the Zapotec community of Union Hidalgo after five years of legal battle.
With our correspondent in Mexico, Gwendolina Duval
Through its actions before the courts in France and Mexico, Union Hidalgo has become the first indigenous community to succeed in pushing back a multinational: a historic victory for Juan Antonio Lopez, of the NGO ProDESC, which has supported opponents in the legal field against this Gunaa Sicaru wind farm project which was to be the largest in Latin America with 4,400 ha and 115 wind turbines. “ Union Hidalgo has created a precedent and paves the way for other communities to continue to defend their territory “, he explains.
27 wind farms in the region and a decrease in the number of birds
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is a very windy area in Mexico and has long attracted foreign energy companies. The small region already has 27 wind farms, complains Pedro Matos, a resident of Union Hidalgo: ” We are the ones who suffer the consequences, we live there day by day. And I pass at the edge of these parks and I saw the decrease in birds. Further studies are needed. A regional environmental impact study must be carried out. »
Opponents of the EDF project denounced the lack of consultation of the local population. The project has uncovered territorial disputes that have degraded the peace of the region, says activist Guadalupe Ramirez: “ The most serious thing is the community division that we are currently experiencing. We demand that the authorities ensure the safety of our families, because we are threatened. »
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