Campesinos in Tabasco Demand Compensation for Contamination by Pemex Oil Wells

On January 29, 1996, thousands of indigenous campesinos belonging to the PRD political party mobilized themselves in seven municipalities in the Chontal region of Tabasco to block the passage to 59 oil wells, including the oil field Sen which is known to be the highest producing oil field in Tabasco. Ten days later, although the campesinos were unarmed and demonstrating peacefully, three of the seven demonstration sites were violently dispersed by police and troops using billy clubs, and tear gas. The worst confrontation was in Nacajuca, where over 2,000 campesinos -- mostly women -- were violently removed by approximately 1,000 police and army officials who make up the BOM (Base de Operaciones Mixtas), a cooperation of Mexican armed forces made up of anti-riot police, state and federal judicial police, the highway patrol, and the Mexican military. Between the three sites where confrontations occurred, 110 people, mostly members of the PRD political party, were detained and incarcerated. Lopez Obrador, PRD leader and spokesperson for the campesinos, continued to call for non-violence on the part of both sides during the conflict even though he was himself beaten and injured by the anti-riot police.

Last week, a moratorium of the blockades was called for by Obrador and the PRD leaders while they negotiate their claims with Pemex and the Government. Background: Campesinos who live in the petroleum zone claim to have incurred great losses due to the contamination of the soil, air, and water of over 20 years of oil excavation by the Pemex Corporation. Problems with oil spills, explosions, faulty maintenance of equipment, and unregulated expulsion of toxic waste in the area have polluted the environment to the point where the indigenous people, native to this region, are unable to produce enough food to live on or maintain their livelihoods as farmers and fishermen. Environmental studies show increased salinization of rivers and lagoons due to the dredging of canals to transport heavy equipment and oil lines.

The campesinos in the municipality of Nacajuca, one of the regions most severely affected by the contamination, report a 60% decrease in the production of coconuts, as well as drastic decreases in the production of corn, beans, oranges, cacao, bananas, mangos and other food crops. Medicinal plants, once widely used by the indigenous people for curing diseases, no longer grow in the contaminated areas. The rivers and lagoons, that at one time provided an abundance of fish for the indigenous communities are now so contaminated by oil and toxic wastes that the fish have died out and the community members can no longer bathe or wash clothes in the river. Acid rain is a common occurrence in the area, leading to the corrosion of the corrugated tin roofs, that cover the simple dwellings of the local people. Disease is abundant in the area, ranging from eye and throat irritations to cholera epidemics. With contaminated water sources, and a scarcity of firewood for boiling water, the people are faced with a real dilemma in terms of their health and proper nutrition. The fishermen in the coastal areas have reported a major decrease in fish and oyster production which many studies attribute to the rise in pollution due to continuous oil spills in the area. The regions most affected are the municipalities of Cardenas, Paraiso, Jalpa, Nacajuca, Huimanguillo, Centla, Comalcalco and Cunduacan, where 123 oil spills were reported in 1995. Many people we interviewed in these communities complained that they often go two to three days without eating. Before Pemex began the oil production, there was an abundance of fish, and sufficient harvests. People believed that Pemex would provide them with jobs and would reinvest the profits that they made into the local communities, but say 'development' has brought them nothing but misery and destruction.

The current conflict is a result of years of struggle between the indigenous communities, the Pemex Corporation and the Mexican government. Community leaders say the government disregards both the needs of the people living in the region and the environmental impact that the contamination is causing. It is the poor who are defending the beauty of our planet stated a member of the Tabasco Human Rights Committee.

According to members of the Human Rights Committee of Tabasco (CODEHUTAB), Pemex nets approximately $2 million U.S. dollars per day, which is three times the annual debt of some of the local municipalities. The campesinos accuse Pemex of invading their lands, exploiting the resources, and not sharing any of the resources with the communities who live on the land. We want schools, fully equipped health centers, paved roads. It is not right that they exploit us, invade and pollute our lands, and send all of the petroleum to the U.S., they continue to grow richer while we are living in misery, commented one campesino leader from the town of Cardenas, one of the sights of the blockades. Representatives from different communities in the area, a biologist working with Greenpeace and representatives from CODEHUTAB (located in Villa Hermosa) have conducted studies and have formal evidence that show that Pemex is responsible for the contamination that has impacted various regions in the area. This evidence has led to written agreements between Pemex and government officials in which Pemex agreed to pay damages to the affected parties and clean up the environment. Nevertheless, most of these damages have not been paid, the environment has not been cleaned up, and there doesn't seem to be a system in place to ensure that these agreements, once signed, are actually carried out.

According to Jorge Hernandez Rodriguez, a governmental official with SEDESPA, the government agency which mediates the disputes with Pemex, all the records of who has received payments from Pemex are in the hands of the Pemex officials. The government has no corroborating records to show if the victims of these claims have actually been paid or not. A representative of CODEHUTAB cited a case in which on February 16, 1995, a Pemex gas line exploded in Platano y Cacao, a community in the Municipality Centro in Villa Hermosa. Nine people were killed, many more injured, and many lost their houses. Even though Pemex and government officials have signed documents acknowleging liability and promising to pay compensation, not one payment has been made because the campesinos affected do not have proper documentation to show they were living in their house prior to the explosion. The members of the PRD leading the demonstrations have made the following demands of the Pemex Corporation: