On June 5, in a historically decisive and surprising compliance with provisions of the law, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) denied authorization of the environmental impact for open pit mining of gold and silver in the hills of El Jumil municipality of Temixco, Morelos, proposed by Esperanza Silver of Mexico, SA de CV.
This decision represents a triumph of a broad and diverse coalition of civil society movements and of the people of Morelos who with admirable perseverance, dedication and courage, confronted a Canadian mining company that for years had woven a network of patronage loyalties and complicity between local inhabitants, local authorities and officials of various agencies in order to tilt in their favor authorizations for the opening of the mine in one of the concessions, totaling more than 15,000 hectares [37,065 acres], granted by the Secretariat of Economy. The concession includes nothing less than the entire Xochicalco archaeological site, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.
This victory of the movement against toxic mega-mining was possible not only by the just and legitimate argument against the mining initiative, which was exposed intelligently and in a short time, but by the many parties who spoke and acted against the project. First and foremost, the villages of the municipalities that would be directly affected by damage to human life and the environment, water, flora, fauna, biodiversity, including those in Tetlama who have been threatened and harassed by individuals from the Esperanza [Hope] Silver company who neither tolerate nor respect the rights of opponents. These individuals have caused social upheaval that must be quickly addressed.
Second, to those from Tetlama must be added activists from a coalition of social organizations and groups of very diverse natures (union, environmental, even businesses with praiseworthy integrity), who were given the task of informing and raising society's awareness about the cursed mining. Third, scholars from a wide spectrum ranging from biology, geology and medicine to sociology, anthropology and archaeology, who documented--before various authorities at all levels, forums and the media--the irrationality of the whole project and the irreversible damage that it would bring to Morelos. Fourth, various authorities, including the governor of the state of Morelos, the highest authorities from the National Institute of Anthropology and History [INAH] and the rector of the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos. In separate documents addressed to the General Directorate of Impact and Environmental Risk (DGIRA), these experts gave their technical opinions on the matters within their respective competencies regarding the in-feasibility of the extractive proposal.
In this context, the remarkable change of the position maintained by the National Institute of Anthropology and History [INAH] was critical. Originally, the engineering specialists of conflicts of the mining corporation had qualified [the INAH]--in accordance with the same environmental impact statement submitted by Esperanza Silver--as an "institution favorable" to their purposes.
In this context, the remarkable change of the position maintained by the National Institute of Anthropology and History [INAH] was critical. Originally, the engineering specialists of conflicts of the mining corporation had qualified [the INAH]--in accordance with the same environmental impact statement submitted by Esperanza Silver--as an "institution favorable" to their purposes.
With the arrival of Sergio Raúl Arroyo to the General Direction of the INAH and of Bolfy Cottom to the Technical Secretariat, it was possible to open a dialogue between researchers and authorities. This dialogue allowed a comprehensive rethinking of the defense that by law requires the institute to reject elements of the mining activity that could affect Xochicalco, its polygonal and its adjacent areas. In its function 03865 of the SGPA / DGIRA / DG, in which it discloses rejection of the mine's environmental impact statement, it is clearly settled that:
"The INAH concludes that exploitative mining is incompatible with preservation of the archaeological heritage," based on various articles of the Agency Law of Artistic and Historic Monuments and Archaeological Zones and of the Federal Law of the Archaeological Patrimony [Heritage].This appropriate change rehabilitated the INAH's reputation and constituted in the facts a call of attention to the direction, advice and coordination of Archaeology and of the INAH's legal department, which had practically "liberated" the El Jumil zone--ignoring the reasoned opinion of archaeologists from the regional center, ignoring that the pre-Hispanic city of Xochicalco is located inside a concession (the one called Esperanza [Hope] V) and without taking into account the importance of the archaeological structures on the hill of El Jumil--that is, that the use of explosives and the vibrations that could be generated could affect the patrimonial structures and the large caverns with unstable ceilings north of the area.
Here it must be recognized that the DGIRA [General Department of Environmental Impact and Risk] was sensitive to the same effects on the countryside and to the cultural heritage that exploitation of the metals [gold, silver] would cause. The DGIRA considered the archaeological area, which is also a part of the countryside, to be an "element induced by man", according to the definition of "environment" contained in Article 3 of the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection.
Apart from the proximity of the planned mine to Xochicalco, to Cuernavaca airport and to the Tetlama garbage dump, the shortage of water was a structural argument for rejection of the project, since the required annual consumption was 760,000 cubic meters, which amounts to nothing less than 51.14 percent of the currently available water, according to Conagua; therefore, it would affect the supply of the vital liquid for the neighboring communities. [MV Note: Mexico is experiencing severe water shortages due to diminished rainfall and drought brought about by climate change.]
So far, this battle for life has been won in this prolonged war against toxic mining and against the appeasement of the governments of national betrayal that Karl Marx identified as those who sacrifice national duty for class interests. Spanish original
*Gilberto López y Rivas is an anthropologist and researcher for Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in the state of Morelos. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Utah. Active in the 1968 student movement, he has served in the federal Chamber of Deputies.
See also MV translations of related articles by the same author: