Farmers and activists march in Mexico City, on Friday, February 21, 2020, to oppose the infrastructure projects that President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to build
More than 1,000 people marched through downtown Mexico City on Friday to oppose the large infrastructure projects the government plans to build.
The protest involved unions, environmentalists, students and representatives of indigenous peoples, a mixture of people who could give the impression of being supporters of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but who have become some of his most open critics.
Erika Cortez, a member of the Popular Organization Francisco Villa de Izquierda Independiente, who lives in the demarcation of Iztapalapa, said she opposes the presidential project of the Mayan Train to move tourism to the Yucatan Peninsula.
The train is one of the most prominent initiatives of López Obrador, who says it will boost development in southeastern Mexico, but has faced criticism for its environmental impact.
The president “is not in favor of the people, is in favor of companies, people of money,” said Cortez.
Other protesters expressed their opposition to a railroad that would cross the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which would connect the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a huge oil refinery and a gas-based power generation plant.
María de Jesús Patricio, better known as “Marichuy” who was a candidate for the presidency and rival of López Obrador in the elections , participated in the march.
Karina Leyte, from the town of San Francisco Tlatenco, wore a paper mache jaguar with a sign that read: “No train ecocide”.
“I am against the megaprojects that affect us in the ecological, economic, cultural and political villages,” he said.
Leyte acknowledged that he voted for López Obrador for considering him “the least worst”, but said disappointed. “It confirms what we thought, that it was going to be sold,” he said.
The march took place a day after the first anniversary of the death of activist Samir Flores Soberanes, who protested against the construction of the thermoelectric plant in the state of Morelos. He was killed a few days before a referendum on the project which is almost completed and the crime remains unpunished.
Many of those attending the march on Friday carried signs that referred to the death of Flores. On Saturday an assembly of indigenous peoples and their allies will be held in the town of Amilcingo, in Morelos.
Source: notimex
The Mazatlan Post