Opinion • Itandehui Juarez Acevedo • December 8, 2023 • Leer en castellano

In the relentless heat of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Xunaxi and I walk the long streets of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, which reflect the sunlight back to us. Xunaxi has lived here for as long as she can remember. Today, she and her family are active in the local movement to defend the land and territory.

Salina Cruz was the last community formed in the Isthmus, which is why its inhabitants are called "Xhuncos," a Zapotec word that refers to the youngest son or child in a family. Initially, it was populated by Chontal, Huave, Zapotec and Zoque people from neighboring towns like Tehuantepec and San Blas Atempa. They were fishers and salt miners (Salina Cruz translates as “Salt Mine Cross”).

In 1907, the government of Porfirio Díaz inaugurated the railroad and the port of Salina Cruz. Today, it is a strategic port city that sits on the Pacific Ocean at the narrowest part of the Mexican Republic. This has attracted the interest of national and international actors seeking to build an inter-oceanic land route between the Pacific and the Atlantic in order to speed the transport of commercial goods. 

Over time, Salina Cruz became the main industrial hub in the region and one of Mexico’s most important ports. Today it hosts various government-run projects, most of which are linked to extractive industries: a commercial port, an oil refinery, a navy shipyard and an airport under army control. This industrial development has had a big impact on the daily lives of locals and those who live nearby.

The mega-projects 

In 2019, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador began promoting the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT). In 2023, he declared Salina Cruz one of ten "Wellbeing Development Poles" designed to encourage domestic and foreign direct investment. 

Another series of mega-projects are under construction under the rubric of the CIIT. These include a coal coking plant, the renovation and construction of freight train tracks, and the construction of Breakwater West, a rock jetty designed to protect the port.

The CIIT and the National Port System Administration (ASIPONA, in its Spanish initials) in Salina Cruz are now under the control of the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR).

The Program for ASIPONA-Salina Cruz 2022–2024, which was published in Mexico’s Official Gazette earlier this year, states that SEMAR will manage the construction, infrastructure rehabilitation, expansion and equipment of the port as well as Breakwater West, the refinery and the coking plant. 

Local resistance to megaprojects, particularly the CIIT and the infrastructure it requires, began to gain strength in 2019. Linking up with and fostering activism in defense of territory, Salina Cruz residents joined a campaign called "The Isthmus is Ours," which focuses on the protection of communal lands.

Given the opacity with which the CIIT is being developed, collectives and local organizations have held forums, workshops and gatherings to inform residents about the project’s goals, implications and consequences.

"It's the communities against the government," said Xunaxi, who asked me to use a pseudonym in order to protect her safety. "With foreign companies, it’s not as hard to mobilize, because they’re based outside of Mexico. But when it is the federal government, the problem is bigger."

Locals have set up roadblocks and published communiqués rejecting the imposition of the project and denouncing fake consultations promoted by the federal government. They emphasize that the economic benefits promised by the state will go to transnational companies and not the population, who are more likely to face relocation and the loss of their territory.

The consequences of industrial development

Salina Cruz grew to become a city of over 85,000 as people were drawn by the promise of jobs and good working conditions. Migrants from other parts of Mexico and beyond now make up two thirds of the population.

Today, the city’s green areas are shrinking. Beginning in September, palm trees along the main streets were felled so that the 30-meter long structures needed to build the coking plant could be transported through the city. There are pipelines crossing the streets, carrying the fossil fuels that facilitated the transformation of this coastal area.

We ambled through one of the peripheral neighborhoods of the city, nestled among its few hills. In the distance, Xunaxi pointed out something resembling a huge, bright red bonfire belching a large burst of black smoke that contrasted sharply against the green of the palms and mangroves, home to countless birds whose songs can be heard at nighttime when the city quiets. 

The Antonio Dovalí Jaime Refinery was built in the 1970s by Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), and it can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. It distributes crude oil, fuel oil, gas and diesel through pipelines to the maritime terminal, where it is loaded on ships and then transported to different countries.

The Management Program to Improve Air Quality in the State of Oaxaca indicates that the Salina Cruz refinery is a key source of sulfur dioxide, one of the state’s main sources of air pollution. Despite this, the Tehuantepec Metropolitan Area, of which Salina Cruz is part, does not monitor air quality.

"Development hasn’t led to anything. Quite the opposite: everything has become more expensive and we’re impoverished," said Xunaxi. "Now we worry about getting jobs so we can eat. We are sapped of our time and energy."

A study by researchers Lilia Padilla and Daniel Azevedo found that Salina Cruz is environmentally fragile. It highlighted the risk of landslides on the hills holding fuel storage tanks, as well as the oil spills and high pressure incidents that have occurred in recent years, which have put the population at risk.

Lesvia Villalobos, a resident of Salina Cruz and an expert on the subject, points out that marine fauna, an important source of food for the local diet, has diminished. The water has taken on a dull grayish cast, according to locals, and dark vapor from the chimneys hangs over the city. 

In 2021, journalist Patricia Ramírez published a report in which she showed that fishermen perceive the impact of oil leaks into the ocean on their own bodies. They have persistent skin rashes after being in the water and have also experienced hair loss.

Fish, which are foundational to the local economy and diet, are increasingly scarce. "There is a lot of fuel spillage, toxins and waste from the refinery, the fish have decreased and the fishermen have been hugely impacted," said Xunaxi. "It's not like in the 80s when people went out and filled up [with fish]; today, if you stick your hand in the water, it comes out smelling and colored like oil." 

In the distance, we see some buoys and other infrastructure in the middle of the water. Xunaxi explained that when there is an oil spill the sea looks as if it were a mirror of oil.

Research by César Ramírez, Lilia Cruz and Vicente Marcial demonstrated how megaprojects have undermined food sovereignty in the region. Despite this, the refinery is currently being rebuilt by the federal government, even after several accidents, including leaks, fires and explosions, which have had alarming consequences. 

"The valves have already exploded three or four times. It sounds like a giant balloon is being deflated, you can see a massive gas flare and it gets very hot. Two or three hours later, all the residue starts to fall," said Xunaxi. “Everything gets coated with diesel and oil, and its all ruined.”

A militarized port

The CIIT seeks to modernize and expand the port infrastructure to encourage private investment and enable the entry of larger ships. The 1.6km long Breakwater West is central to this.

The breakwater is one of the projects most coveted by private companies and unions (mainly transportation unions, such as the Autonomous Confederation of Workers and Employees of Mexico [CATEM, in its Spanish initials], the Confederation of Workers of Mexico [CTM, in Spanish] and Libertad) which have agreements with the Salina Cruz National Port System Administration and the federal government guaranteeing their participation. The rock and stone required for its construction is hauled from Mazahua, an ejido belonging to the municipality of Asunción Ixtaltepec. 

Taken together, the refinery, the maritime terminal and the new breakwater, the naval yard and the army air station make clear Salina Cruz is not only one of the country’s most important commercial ports, but also that it is a key military port.

In addition, the military is in charge of security at the CIIT and its presence is now a conspicuous aspect of city life. 

National Guard and Navy convoys appear on a daily basis, weapons drawn, making rounds and keeping watch over the population.

According to the latest crime incidence report from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, Salina Cruz is one of the most violent municipalities in Oaxaca. "A wave of murders began some years ago, but this latest one has been particularly bad. There are murders and shootings on a daily basis, people are kidnapped and ransom money is collected," said Xunaxi. 

She knows first hand how discipline imposed through terror ensures control and domination of the communities. The presence of soldiers does not guarantee security in the area. On the contrary, together with paramilitary groups, it ensures and reinforces extractivist logics, strengthening capital accumulation and the hand of the state.