Article by PBI-Canada

On June 23, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted: “From PBI Mexico we express concern over the serious events that occurred in the community of San Mateo del Mar, Oaxaca. We join the call made by civil society organizations to the authorities to clarify the facts and ensure the safety of community members.”

The British newspaper the Independent explains: “Fifteen people were beaten to death in an indigenous village in southern Mexico which has been plagued by a dispute over an offshore wind farm project.”

That number has now sadly increased to 17 dead with the discovery of two more bodies.

The Guardian adds to the story of what happened: “Local media reported the latest violence broke out after a confrontation between municipal officials from San Mateo del Mar and members of the Union of Ikoots indigenous communities. The Union claimed supporters of the mayor Bernardino Ponce Hinajosa ambushed them at a coronavirus checkpoint and began shooting, injuring several people.”

And the Associated Press notes: “The government of the Pacific coast community of San Mateo del Mar in Oaxaca state said Monday that 13 men and two women were killed in what he described as an attack by a group of dissident townspeople on Sunday.”

Why did this happen?

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador attributed the killing to “a confrontation between communities.” But Mexico News Daily reports: “Organized crime seeks to gain control of the area due to its strategic location for the traffic of undocumented immigrants and the storage of stolen fuel, municipal authorities claim.”

Mexico News Daily and other media also link it back to a controversial windpower megaproject that violated the Indigenous right to free, prior and informed consent.

The Guardian reports: “The area – where many residents belong to the Ikoots indigenous group – is coveted for its open, windy coast… Conflicts date back to 2012 when a consortium of companies tried to build a huge, 396-megawatt offshore wind farm planned for a narrow spit of land in a lagoon near San Mateo.”

This refers to the San Dionisio del Mar windfarm project being built by the Mareña Renovables consortium comprised of Australia’s Macquarie Infrastructure Fund, the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation, the Dutch pension fund PGGM, supported by investments from fifteen banks.

The Independent notes: “Opposition groups from the Ikoots indigenous group, also known as the Huaves, managed to block the project, arguing it would affect their fishing, farming and sacred spaces.”

Several years ago, the PBI-Mexico briefing paper Wind Farms and Concerns about Human Rights Violations in Oaxaca highlighted that: “Throughout 2013, PBI observed with concern an increase in the level of violence in the context of wind farms, particularly against [human rights defenders] and community leaders whose work involves the defence of those affected by these developments.”

And on January 29th of this year, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project accompanied Codigo DH in their participation in the celebration of the 8th anniversary of the Assembly of San Dionisio del Mar that had rejected this megaproject.

The Mexican Centre for Environmental Law (CEMDA) has stated that in the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2018, there 460 cases of attacks on environmental defenders with 53 of those attacks in the wind energy sector. Almost one in three attacks since 2012 targeted defenders opposing energy projects, especially wind and hydroelectric power.

Today, June 24, Educa Oaxaca posted: “The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) asked the state government to protect and safeguard life, personal integrity and security of the inhabitants of San Mateo del Mar, after the events recorded this past Monday, June 22, where 15 people were killed, and that last night the balance increased to 17 victims with the discovery of two more bodies.”

Given it’s hard to discern from media reports what happened, we reiterate PBI-Mexico’s message that authorities should clarify the facts and ensure the safety of community members.

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