“A Pipeline Runs Through it? As far as one Yaqui community is concerned, the Aguaprieta pipeline will never be completed”, 24 January 2018

In 2013, Enrique Peña Nieto’s government deregulated Mexico’s energy sector, opening it up to foreign investors for the first time 75 years…But not everyone stands to see their quality of life materially improve from the deregulated sector. Such is the case for the Yaquí Peoples in Sonora… whose territory is currently home to an 84-kilometre stretch of natural gas pipeline. The Aguaprieta …pipeline starts out in Arizona and stretches down 833km…cutting through Yaqui territory along the way.  Once completed, the pipeline would also cross Yaqui River (Río Yaqui), the Yaqui’s main source of water...  “The gas pipeline doesn’t help us, it only benefits businessmen, factory owners, but not the Yaqui” said Francisca Vásquez Molina…from the Loma de Bacúm community…In addition to the  considerable environmental impact that stems from the pipeline’s construction, the high methane content of natural gas could bring on disaster…IEnova, the company behind the pipeline, has repeatedly made assurances that all due safety procedures have been followed in construction and that the risk of accidents is minimal but this has not been enough to assuage the fear or anger of everyone opposing the gas pipeline…