Ecobreves – MEXICO: Hydroelectric Dam Is Dead, Say Farmers

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MEXICO CITY, Oct 13 2007 (IPS) - The refusal of Mexican authorities to give up on construction of La Parota hydroelectric dam in the southern state of Guerrero, suspended by a court ruling, is a crude deception, say peasant farmers. “The government shouldn't lie — the project is dead,” José Hernández, a campesino leader in the farming community where the government has tried to build the dam since 2003, told Tierramérica.

La Parota would generate 900 megawatts of electricity and would affect 30,000 rural residents. It would take six years to build at a budget of one billion dollars.

A judge in Guerrero ordered in September the suspension of the project, citing irregularities. But the government has appealed the ruling and accused the farmers of allowing themselves to be manipulated by environmental groups.

“We haven't been manipulated. We have proof that La Parota would be a tragedy for everyone,” said Hernández.