In Mexico, a grassroots organization in a rural area of Mexico City managed to change the fate of a community center that was originally planned to be converted into a sports facility. After a community consultation, the vote was “no.” Our colleague Daniel Rosas brings us the story. teleSUR
00:00In Mexico, a grassroots organization in a rural area of Mexico City managed to change the fate of a community center that was supposed to be built into a sports facility.
00:09After a consultation, the vote was known. Why? Our colleague Daniel Rosa with the story.
00:14The facilities of the Xochemilco Sports Center, south of the Mexican capital, will remain as they are now, following the struggle of indigenous peoples against a local government project.
00:25At this baseball field, we met Esmeralda, who gave us an overview of what happened.
00:31There are fighters who defend their spaces and their territory.
00:36Here, things are still run by traditional authorities, and in the end, there are many laws that protect us as indigenous neighborhoods and peoples at the international level.
00:46A community center with various services and facilities was proposed, but according to the neighbors, these already exist.
00:54The project was planned to do what is already there, just like the pool we already have in the same sports center, but sacrificing all this green space that is actually used.
01:06These are spaces that are used not only for baseball, but also for people who go running.
01:10They are not against development, but against the misuse of resources, which can lead to acts of corruption, Pilar assures.
01:22We were never against the project, we simply wanted it to be relocated because the sports center is actually used.
01:30It is not a reclaimed space, and it is a space that represents culture, recreation, and sports for the people of Xochemilco.
01:36The protests grew when they learned that an artificial lake was to be built, even though the sports complex is located just five minutes away from the natural Chinampas site, which have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
01:53The only intention was to make it touristic, for a kind of fly-by tourism, so to speak, because the World Cup is coming.
02:02Xochemilco is less than 15 kilometers from the Azteca Stadium and will receive a lot of tourists, but what will happen after the World Cup is over?
02:09The reason for the strong opposition from the neighbors is that these lands belong to the indigenous communities, who donated them so that facilities could be built for the good of the community.
02:23The capital city government agreed that the outcome was favorable to the residents.
02:31And some elections are won, and others are lost, and we will respect the will of the people, and seek other opportunities.
02:39The people of Xochemilco are waiting for the decision to be made official, so they can have complete peace of mind.
Be the first to comment