A militant nine-month campaign by Mexican farmers has successfully overturned a government plan to build a new international airport on communal lands.
By Michael McCaughan
Mexico's Transport Minister Mr Pedro Cerisola announced the climb-down yesterday, saying the government would consider other sites for the new terminal, originally planned for San Salvador Atenco, just outside Mexico City.
"Given the rejection by the farm communities of the original project and that there are convenient alternatives," announced Mr Cerisola, "the government has decided to cancel the expropriation orders" that would have forcibly purchased farmers' land for the site.
The campaign cost the life of one villager, who died last week due to injuries received in battles with police.
Last November a presidential decree ordered the expropriation of 4,550 hectares of San Salvador Atenco lands, offering locals less than a dollar per metre squared, considerably below market value.
The Atenco villagers mounted a legal challenge to the decree, successfully halting work on the proposed site pending an appeal process. The people of Atenco then erected barricades in December, formally declaring the village in resistance to the government project.
The cancellation of the project is a severe setback for President Vicente Fox's ambitious development plans, as the airport was seen as crucial to the growth of tourism.
Villagers marched several times to Mexico City then faced down an elite rapid reaction unit sent to crush the rebel movement. The overwhelming response by villagers of all ages forced the police into retreat.
The support expressed by student and worker groups also damaged government credibility, while international coverage embarrassed the government.
President Fox offered a higher price for the lands but the damage had been done and the community would accept nothing short of the project's cancellation.
The death last week of Jose Enrique Espinoza Juárez, a villager beaten by police during a protest on July 11th, sealed the fate of the project.
"These villagers have shown that the power of money cannot overturn the strength of their consciences' said Mr Luis Hernandez Navarro, a political analyst. "The government has given us nothing, it has never consulted us and everything we have has been achieved by ourselves," said Raquel, a member of the Atenco resistance group.
Police stood guard outside shopping centres yesterday to prevent looting as Uruguay continued to be gripped by a financial crisis that led to bank closures this week and raised a fervent hope the IMF can save the day.
Looters ransacked 16 supermarkets in the suburbs Thursday while the government was putting together a bill - called Strengthening the Financial System - to put financial institutions back on track and prevent a run on banks.
The measure is designed to restore confidence in Uruguay's troubled financial system and halt financial blood-letting at the banks. - (AFP)