MAPDER

Second Gathering of the Mexican Movement of Those Affected by Dams and in Defence of Rivers (MAPDER)

The Mexican Movement of Those Affected by Dams and in Defence of Rivers (MAPDER) was born at the 2nd Gathering of the Meso-American Movement Against Dams which was held in La Esperanza, Honduras in 2003. The first MAPDER meeting was held in 2004 in Guerrero where communities are battling against the construction of the La Parota dam. Six months later the Second MAPDER conference was held in the Huentitan ravine where only one woman, Guadalupe Lara remained in resistance against the Arcediano dam and refused to sell her lands. This document is the declaration that was made at the 2nd MAPDER meeting signed by all participants.

 Communities who would be impacted by the proposed La Parota Dam on the Papagayo River in the State of Guerrero, Mexico have met political persecution of their leaders, threats, and police violence because of their opposition to the construction of the dam. Two community leaders have been murdered - Tomas Cruz Zamora was killed last September as he returned from an organizing meeting, and Eduardo Maya Manrique was stoned to death this January. In recent months, police have attacked peaceful community demonstrators, wounding hundreds of farmers.

Los ríos de México han brindado peces, transporte y recreación al pueblo mexicano durante milenios. La antigua cultura de los Olmecas se desarrolló por los ríos Grijalva y Papaloapa; y "La Gran Vía" – gran ciudad maya precolombina – se ubicó por el Río Usumacinta en la frontera con Guatemala. Tres grandes sistemas fluviales atraviesan el accidentado territorio mexicano: el sistema de ríos que desembocan en el Atlántico, los que van al Pacífico, y el sistema central. Pero todos los ríos de México y las comunidades que viven al lado de ellos están amenazados.

Twenty large dams have already been built on Mexico’s rivers. Mexico boasts the highest dam in the Americas and the sixth largest dam in the world: the Chicoasén Dam in Chiapas State. Mexico’s dams have forcibly displaced more than 167,000 people. The Temascal Dam in Oaxaca displaced close to 25,000 Mazatec indigenous peoples, a nation that spoke 56 languages. Most were not compensated for their land and losses, and when they protested their homes were set on fire. Promises of electricity and irrigation were not met, and close to 200 displaced people died.

In 2003, the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission proposed the construction of La Parota Dam in the State of Guerrero. The 900 MW dam on the Papagayo River would flood close to 17,000 hectares of land and displace more than 25,000 people. An additional 75,000 people are expected to be affected by changes to the river ecosystem downstream of the dam. Major losses in fisheries could occur all the way downstream of the dam until the river’s delta at the Pacific Ocean.