“Mexico: In the Land of Zapata, a Community Fights Natural Gas Development” – December 2, 2014

…The Morelos Integral Project, or PIM for its initials in Spanish, is a…natural gas pipeline and two thermo-electric plants…[and] a partnership between the Federal Electricity agency, CFE, and Spanish and Italian energy companies [that] has been pushed through without community consent on the lands of 60 campesino and indigenous communities…[who] began to protest the project in May 2012…This resistance is bearing fruit, and towns opposed to the PIM in the state of Puebla have succeeded in halting construction…The…[CFE]…awarded the construction of the thermo-electric plant to the Spanish company Abengoa…[Many] concerns rest in the long-term…[over] impacts on agriculture production…[still] unclear…[and water]…considering eastern Morelos already has suffered short water supplies in the past decades…[Also there] is the geographic location…in a “zone 2” risk area of the active volcano Popocatépetl…Across Mexico, authorities are detaining activists who defend territory and community self-determination on fabricated charges to fragment and destroy movements. On April 7th 2014, Juan Carlos [Bonilla was]…charged with obstructing construction and destroying infrastructure…[and] remains in prison even though his lawyers have said he will soon be released…There is also the case of Enedina Rosas, 60, a local elected official in San Felipe Xonacayucan, Atlixco, Puebla. After spending a month in jail, she was placed under house arrest due to her deteriorating health…