Angry seamstresses in Tabasco.A group of seamstresses in Tabasco has warned President López Obrador that “blood will flow” if the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) cuts their power again for failing to pay their bill.
In a video posted to social media, the head of the Exótica Textiles cooperative in Macuspana – the municipality where López Obrador was born and raised – said that CFE personnel most recently cut the power in their factory while they were rushing to complete an order of face masks to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
Alicia Jiménez said the seamstresses held the president personally responsible for the power cut.
She said that the cooperative is part of the “civil resistance” movement against the state-owned electricity company, which was initiated by López Obrador after his defeat in the 1994 election for governor of Tabasco, allegedly due to electoral fraud.
Jiménez said the president had promised to meet with them to discuss the issue of electricity rates but asked them to be patient. A year and a half after he took office, López Obrador has failed to keep his word, she said.
“He doesn’t want to help us,” Jiménez said.
She also said that the seamstresses haven’t received any support from state or federal authorities to help them through the coronavirus-induced economic slump.
“We do what we can to get by; we have a contract to make face masks but … the [electricity] commission says, ‘go and cut off their power.’ It’s not fair, if we don’t have anything to eat, why do they take away the little we have,” Jiménez said.
“Don’t forget this message [López Obrador], you’re responsible for what happens. … Maybe a lot of people want to see this factory destroyed but … we’re not going to allow it. … If these people come back to disconnect the electricity, a tragedy could happen, we don’t know. … We’re not going to allow them to cut the power.”
At the conclusion of the video, one of the other seamstresses said that the cooperative is the “sustenance of our families” and they won’t allow it to be destroyed by the authorities.
“Blood will flow here!” she declared.
Source: La Silla Rota (sp)
