EMERGENCY CALL OUT In support of the international campaign “# Yo Prefiero el Lago”, say No to the construction of the New International Airport of Mexico

EMERGENCY CALL OUT In support of the international campaign “# Yo Prefiero el Lago”, say No to the construction of the New International Airport of Mexico NAIM, during the referendum of the 25th-28th October

The proposal is to take a picture of planes trails in your sky and to write “ your first name or organization, your location ” and “ NO MORE AIRPORT, I PREFER THE CLIMATE ” or “ YO PREFIERO EL LAGO, NO MAS AEROPUERTOS ” and to send it to the campaign: # YO PREFIERO EL LAGO

Summary of the situation in the Valley of Mexico :

From the 25th of October to the 28th a referendum will take place, to ask wether or not the gigantic airport project in the valley of Mexico should be built or stopped. Right now, despite the fact that it is both absurd and illegal, the construction continues. The cost is estimated around 13 billions US dollars, and is sure to rise. The location of the airport is on the site of an ancient natural lake (now mostly drained ) in the middle of volcanoes. It’s one of the 5 places in the world containing natural spiruline, and the Axolotl, an endemic amphibian, which survives in what is left of the lake. The quasi entire lake was dried out during the 20th century, but the natural environment left over is still very rich, especially in birds species. It is also highly fertile soil which farmers continue to cultivate. The lake was a natural wonder which allowed different human societies to settle and proliferate throughout the ages. It was the heart of the Aztec empire where the great city of Tenochtitlan was founded on an island in the lake surrounded by floating gardens. The spanish conquistadors destroyed Tenochtitlan and used the remains to build what became Mexico City (which is sinking several inches every years in the soft bottom of the ancient lake). Actually Mexico city and it’s more than 21 Millions inhabitants are already subjected to water restrictions.

This new Aeropolis project is not just an airport but a commercial/touristic/technological/university/urban… complexe, using already 5000Ha or 12355Ac in the initial project and would participate in the megalopolis endless extension. Not only the actual pollution of Mexico City would spread out in the valley, affecting other villages located on the other side of the ancient lake, but the water supplies wouldn’t be sufficient to fulfil all theses new activities and newcomers. After the decision to build this new airport was made in 2001, people living and resisting in Atenco and other villages around created the FPDT, Frente of Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra (Front of People/Villages in Defence of the Earth/Soil). They mobilised lots of people around their struggle and won the battle in court. The project got stopped, until 2014 when the ultra-liberal and dictatorial “Revolutionary Institutional Party” got back in power with Enrique Penia Nieto’s “election” or rather his imposition as president. In 2006, being governor of the state of Mexico, he already commanded, an ultra-violent repression in the village of Atenco. In the past years the communal agricultural land of the impacted villages got illegally expropriated and they started to build the airport.

Last spring during the presidential campaign, Andrès Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) pretended that he would cancel the project if he was elected. But Ricardo Slim, the main investor in the project (credited to be between 2010 and 2013, the richest man in the world, and now number 7) and the industrial/financial Mexican consortium convinced the futur president, that the federal state wouldn’t need to finance the airport project but that it was impossible to stop it anymore. Instead of blocking the project like he promised, AMLO has announced a national referendum for the Mexican population to decide in his place, wether or not the actual existing airports should be renovated or if they should keep on building the NAIM New International Airport of Mexico.

Of course in this campaign, the means of the two sides, in favor or in defavor of the airport, are very unequal and the election processes in Mexico are well known for their usual irregularities. This national pole will take place next weekend so this is the last few days where we can support the resistance against this insane project which represents the summum of the dead end of western development after 500 years of exploitation of this continent.