The Human Rights Officer of the UN High Commissioner in Mexico notes that the inhabitants of the community of San José Tipceh, in Muna, were not consulted for a solar energy mega-project…//
In presenting the United Nations Special Report on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Bernardo Serrano, Human Rights Officer of the Office in Mexico of the UN High Commissioner, said that the dispossession of lands and the lack of guarantees for their free self-determination are the prerogatives that are most violated in the indigenous Mayan peoples.
During the Special Rapporteurship on Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the official noted that for the first time in this report there are two cases in the Peninsula, one of them in the community of San José Tipceh, in Muna, where its inhabitants were not consulted for a megaproject of energy that contemplates the installation of a million solar panels in 700 hectares of that community.
He noted that the owners of the companies offered money to ejidatarios of Plan Chac, Sacalum and San José Tipceh, in Muna, for the construction of a solar park and an electric substation, respectively.
Serrano said that the report documents that the common denominator in human rights violations of indigenous peoples in Mexico is the lack of prior consultation with extractive, energy and tourism projects, which causes these communities to face territorial conflicts, forced displacements, criminalization and violence.
The report of the Special Rapporteurship states that in Hopelchén and Tenabo, Campeche, the permit for the planting of transgenic soy affects the traditional practices, environment and natural resources of Mayan communities, and causes damage to the water and health of the inhabitants.
“A process of consultation with the indigenous Xui Maya communities that live in the area is being carried out; However, authorities and companies press for a quick consultation. There is disagreement with regard to how the consultation is taking place and concern about the increase in violence,” says the UN representative.
He pointed out that another objective of the Rapporteurship is to verify if the Mexican government complied with the recommendations made by the UN, where the main concern is the territorial aspect and the lack of legal certainty that derives from the dispossession of lands, “which has been aggravated in recent years by the development of renewable energy and tourism megaprojects.
Text: Jorge Euán
