The Pre-hearing ‘Dams, Indigenous People’s Rights and Impunity’ People’s Permanent Court -Chapter Mexico has started.
Maude and I arrived last night to a town that is very close to my heart. Temacapulín, Jalisco is one of the very few towns left in Mexico where you can feel safe, children playing in the central plaza can enjoy open space. It is a tiny town proud of its traditions and struggling to survive the decision the government to displace and flood the whole community. El Zapotillo dam is being built to send water to the city of Leon several miles away. The madness of water management in Mexico, as in many other places, dictates to do these very expensive and unsustainable projects instead of reducing water leakage and promoting rainwater harvesting, for instance.
Maude Barlow is sharing the responsibility as a judge together with internationally and nationally renowned academics, activists and lawyers: Miloon Kothari, Monti Aguirre, Patricia Ávila, Francisco López Bárcenas, Luis Daniel Vázquez, Carlos Vainer.
You can listen to a programme in Spanish later today (9:30 pm – California time) about the hearing at: www.kpfk.org.
