from Schools for Chiapas

Civil Society Organization Las Abejas de Acteal
Sacred Territory of the Martyrs of Acteal
Acteal, Chenalhó Chiapas Mexico

March 14th 2026

To the Caretakers of Water and Mother Earth
To the National Indigenous Congress
To the Indigenous Governing Council
To Human Rights Defenders
To Free and Alternative Media
To National and International Media
To National and International Civil Society

Sisters and brothers:

On March 14, 1997, during the First International Meeting of People Affected by Dams in Curitiba, Brazil, the Day of Action Against Dams and in Defense of Rivers, Water, and Life was established.

 We, the members of the Las Abejas de Acteal Organization, have decided for more than a decade that on March 14 of each year, we will show our solidarity through peaceful actions in the Tsotsil territory of Ch’enalvo’, raising our voices for the communities, peoples, and nations affected and threatened by megaprojects such as dams, water plundering, and river contamination by large transnational corporations in collusion with governments, as is the case in Mexico.

Currently, Mexico’s bad government, led by Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo through the National Water Commission (Conagua), is pushing forward with the construction of dams in various parts of the country; 17 projects that include the construction of the Hermosillo dam system—Sinoquipe, Puerta del Sol, and Las Chivas—on the Sonora and San Miguel rivers in Sonora, the continuation of the Milpillas Dam on the Atenco River in Zacatecas, the resumption of the Paso Ancho Dam—now Margarita Maza—on the Sola River in Oaxaca, the Las Escobas Dam on the river of the same name in San Luis Potosí, the El Novillo Dam in Baja California Sur, the El Tunal II Dam on the Tunal River in Durango, and the Presa Solís-León aqueduct in Guanajuato, among other projects considered strategic and municipal, part of the National Water Plan, with an investment of 122.6 billion pesos from 2025 to 2030[1].

The government of the so-called “Fourth Transformation” is riddled with inconsistencies and hypocrisy. Take the issue of dams, for example: When he was president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador suspended the construction of new dams, with the exception of El Zapotillo in Jalisco and Santa María in Sinaloa. The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) published a statement on its website on March 14, 2020, the Day of Action Against Dams and in Defense of Rivers, Water, and Life. In Mexico, the 4T’s environmental policy will not allow the construction of new dams, considering them obsolete and destructive[2]. But in 2019, when Samir Flores Soberanes and his community were protesting against the Morelos Integrated Project, during an event featuring then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador—where he announced a public consultation to put the thermoelectric plant into operation—he suddenly called Samir and his colleagues “left-wing radicals, who to me are nothing more than conservatives.” Ten days later, Samir Flores was murdered in the patio of his home.

Defending our territories—in this case, water—can cost us our lives. We also remember our fellow Lenca people’s advocate, Berta Cáceres; March 2 marked the tenth anniversary of her murder for opposing the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in the community of Río Blanco, Honduras, due to its impact on the sacred Gualcarque River. Just like the murders of Samir Flores, our brother Simón Pedro, Father Marcelo, and many others in Mexico, these crimes remain unpunished.

What we aim to achieve through this action is to inform the general public, so they can freely and proactively learn about the consequences of the federal government’s policies regarding water, rivers, and the land.

Our goal with this initiative is to inform the general public so that they can freely and proactively learn about the consequences of the federal government’s policies regarding water, rivers, and soil.

Sisters and brothers, we know that no one can live without water. We believe that first we must have awareness, respect, care, and protection for water; then we must defend it from corporations that, through megaprojects such as dams or major highways, will destroy aquifers and sever the veins of Mother Earth in their wake.

Neither in Chiapas nor anywhere else in Mexico should more dams be built, because they do not benefit communities and peoples; in other words, the government does not build dams for the poor, but rather for its business dealings with its wealthy and powerful friends in Mexico. Furthermore, many humble and poor people do not have access to reliable electricity, and many users receive extremely high electricity bills, which they cannot afford on such low wages.

The water crisis is getting worse and worse; we are already facing the harsh reality of scarcity. On the one hand, this is because our population is growing, but that is not the root of the problem. Rather, large transnational corporations—such as soft drink companies and dam operators, among others—are primarily responsible for the drought and pollution, and it is we, the poor, who are paying the price.

We, from the Las Abejas de Acteal Organization, tell you that the solution to this major problem is organization. We must raise awareness in our villages, in our neighborhoods, in our municipalities, and wherever we may be.

In light of the above:

It is urgent that we care for and defend our water, rivers, streams, springs, and lagoons; for water is our lifeblood.

From the Tsotsil Territory of Ch’enalvo’; March 14, 2026.

Sincerely,

The Voice of the Las Abejas Civil Society Organization of Acteal.

Original text published at Abejas de Acteal on March 14th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.