“When I decided to go down this path, I knew what I was facing. You can lose your life, and many have lost theirs.”
Mexican defender Alejandro of the United Peoples Front in Defence of Land and Water of the Cholulteca Region (FPDTA-MPT), home to Mexico’s famous volcanoes Iztaccihuatl and Popocatépetl, speaks to PBI about the “projects of death” imposed upon Indigenous Nahuatl communities
Alejandro continues to be criminalised for opposing exploitative industries, including the reopening of the Bonafont bottling plant which provoked nationwide resistance in 2021 from indigenous groups in the Caravan for water and life: Peoples united against capitalist dispossession movement. He discusses the dangers for environmental defenders and PBI’s protective role in visibilising their struggles.
Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your movement?
I am Alejandro Torres Xocolatl, from the community of Santa María Zacatepec, Puebla, Mexico and a member of the Peoples Front in Defence of Land and Water Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala (FPDTA). I also participate in the Pueblos Unidos movement in the Cholulteca region against the Bonafont company. I am a councillor of the Indigenous Council of the Government (CIG), a founding member of the Zacatepec community radio, and I have been defending human rights for fifteen years.
How did you start participating in the FPDTA?
My ideas were formed by my grandparents and great-grandparents since the revolution of General Zapata. My grandfather instilled discipline and values in my father and then in me. I am grateful for everything beautiful that life has given me and my way of thanking the people is by defending the water, the air, the land. Fifteen years ago, maybe a little further back, I began to see the injustices in my town, the impositions of real estate, of deep wells for industries, the pollution of rivers from toxic water from industrial parks, the construction of towers of high-tension, and so on. I started attending and participating in the town and municipality assemblies. Bit by bit I began defending not only locally but at the state and federal level. I remember our first battle was organising ourselves against the imposition of a highway bypass that did not consult the people and was going to split up the communities. There were detainees, there were persecutions, there were betrayals, but we continued defending. And thanks to the resistance of the towns, the project was cancelled and this was under the ex-governor of Puebla, Mario Marin Torres.
Can you tell us a bit about why there are movements against such projects and what are the problems with how these infrastructure programs are developed?
We are not opposed to development, as long as it is sustainable and respectful of the ecology and the people are consulted for such projects. . Unfortunately, we live in a very corrupt country, where rights and national and international agreements are violated, and where government institutes like CONAGUA (the National Commission of Water) and SEMARNAT (the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources), which are there to protect, fail to. They do the contrary, as they are in collusion with capital and are at their service; our trade agreements only benefit the large transnational companies. They are in collusion with capital and our trade agreements only benefit the large transnational companies. The construction of the highway meant splitting up the community and preventing people from selling their products on the other side and making a living. In Mexico, such projects are imposed on us without any consultations or if they are conducted, they are done deceitfully. We oppose these projects of death and when activists block a highway, it’s because it is the only way we can be heard. That's why there needs to be a lot of organisation in defending rights. If five people demonstrate, well, no one will pay any attention. But if there are five thousand, they can move the government and the capital.
What are the risks and reprisals of being in this fight for you and your colleagues?
Being a social fighter makes you an enemy for emitting consciousness and blocking the development of capital. You are criminalised, persecuted, threatened, defamed, killed or disappeared. But because you love the land and the territory, you defend it with your life. Today we are experiencing a more bitter war because each time the system is camouflaged, and this government – which arises from the social struggle, from the left – know us very well. They know about our organisations, about how we defend and fight. With this wave of going into politics, there is a narrative that we can make changes from the congress, but that is a lie because it is a corrupt and treacherous system. Look at the statistics, there are more murders and disappearances of environmentalists, journalists who speak the truth and conscious students. Presidential decrees are based on national security and are publicly accompanied by militarization. The national guard functioning with the army means a dictatorship for us.
Can you tell us about the current criminalisation process against you?
We were first criminalised by the Morelos Integral Project (PIM) and this was at all levels, through defamation, threats, criminalisation. The paramilitaries came after me. They kidnapped our compañeros, aimed their AK45s at us. I have been released from three arrest warrants, two for the defence of life, land and territory and one for my work in the community radio. We have been accused of drug trafficking and had the authorities after us because we supposedly used our headquarters at the community radio to sell drugs. Many of our people no longer return to activism because they have been traumatised. It is not convenient to the system for defenders to generate awareness, to give visibility to the voice of the people. Unfortunately in this fight, not only have our compañeros been imprisoned but our compañero Samil Flores Avellanes of the community Amilcingo, Morelos, was assassinated and we are still waiting for justice for his death. We will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice for his murder. Currently, with the defence of the Metlapanapa river, our compañero Miguel Lopez was imprisoned and his case remains open. I am also being accused of three crimes that I did not commit. They have tried to assassinate me. The last time was about four months ago when a pick-up truck almost ran me over. This happened in my community; it is there that conflict is generated. There are those who, for money or a political position, betray their people. When I decided to go down this path, I knew what I was facing, I knew that it would be very difficult, with a lot of risk. You can lose your life, and many have lost theirs. But we are still standing because when you defend nature, you feel blessed by it.
What does PBI's support and accompaniment mean to you and how do you think the international community could support this struggle?
PBI's accompaniment has been an important tool for us. We feel protected, as if we had a green guardian angel by our side, along with other non-governmental human rights organisations and truthful journalism. PBI has an impact because, although it does not have all the power we need to move the government, it raises awareness of the conflict and offers us security. If you are in an assembly and see the presence of two or three PBI colleagues, then you feel confident and speak freely because you are not afraid of being attacked. I think it’s very important that others struggling know about spaces and institutions which can provide protection. The workshops that PBI organises are excellent because they give you the tools to be able to defend yourself. The struggles must be visible at the local, national and international level. We are living the fight and it is shown to the world thanks to these organisms. Otherwise, how can we continue to do what we do? Of course, it is very important for us to continue organising. Until dignity becomes the norm.
PBI’s constant presence on the ground means that we are one of the only organisations that can carry out protection and advocacy work at all levels.
Please visit our donate page for more information on how you can help us to support defenders like Alejandro in their fight for recognition and respect of Indigenous and environmental rights.
