An assembly of local residents and ejido members on Friday voted to reject a dam project in the state of Zacatecas, even as the government staged an “official” consultation that supported the proposal.
While the “informal” assembly — convened by the Movement in Defense of the Territory and the Atenco River — took place in Jiménez del Teul near the site of the proposed dam, state and federal officials held their meeting in Sombrerete, 85 miles to the north. No officials attended the local assembly.
The proposal consists of a dam and a 167-kilometer aqueduct to carry potable water to the urban corridor comprising Fresnillo and the state capital in central Zacatecas.
Jiménez del Teul has 4,465 inhabitants, dispersed in nearly 50 rural localities in a territory of 1,541 square kilometers.
The Movement refuses to recognize the decisions and agreements reached in Sombrerete, calling the official consultation an “act of discrimination” and “institutional simulation,” saying it violated their right to effective and meaningful participation.
The official argument that Atenco River water is “wasted” as it flows to the sea is “a lie,” the Movement insists.
“For years, the Atenco River has irrigated our cornfields, beans, squash, guava trees and orange trees,” the statement said. “It has provided water for deer, wild boar and woodpeckers.”
The local residents insist the project would not address the acknowledged drinking water crisis in central Zacatecas, but would instead be primarily allocated to “industrial and productive activities.”
In March, Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena confirmed her agency conducted an environmental impact study (MIA in Spanish) while also reviewing three adjacent mining projects. It confirms that the 90-meter-high dam would flood 300 hectares of communal land, eradicating the communities of Atotonilco, El Potrero and La Lagunita.
Opponents of the project say the mining proposals — whose projected investments exceed 20 billion pesos (US $1.15 billion) and whose operations would require significant amounts of water — would be the ultimate beneficiaries.
Additionally, the Modelo Brewery located just south of Fresnillo would benefit from the dam.
Furthermore, the MIA indicates the dam would divert 92% of the Atenco River, shifting the water crisis from the Zacatecas city municipal area to one of the poorest municipalities in the state.
Originally proposed 10 years ago, only to stall under three state administrations, the mega-project was taken up by the federal government in January, featured as a strategic macro-project in the National Water Plan.
The cost of the project is another stumbling block. The initial budget of 3.5 billion pesos has ballooned to 9.7 billion pesos.
With reports from La Jornada, Pie de Página, El Sol de Zacatecas and El Universal
