Mexican officials are set to meet with residents of communities along the Río Sonora in northern Sonora, Mexico, that continue to suffer the effects of a mining spill considered the worst environmental disaster in Mexico’s mining history.
In August 2014, Grupo México's Buenavista copper mine spilled 11 million gallons of toxic wastein the Sonora and Bacanuchi rivers, impacting more than 24,000 people downstream.
"It's an open case," Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said during a press conference Wednesday. "And in a few more days there will be a meeting in (the town of) Ures to restart the investigation and to take steps to remediate the damage that was caused."
The public meetings this weekend are a step toward fulfilling a ruling by Mexico's supreme court last yearthat reopened a trust fund meant to provide relief for those affected by the spill.
Local residents say it could be a unique opportunity to finally see long-promised remediation, and for the government to hold the mining company accountable.
“We want them to fulfill promises that have made to us to since the beginning of this environmental disaster, on the part of the government and the company, so we can move forward with our lives. Because this has significantly changed the lives of every resident of the Rio Sonora,” said Elba Nidia Hurtado, a member of the Sonora River Valley Committees, which have been pushing for the resolution. “If there is a will on the part of authorities, we can achieve remediation, understanding that this should cover every affected area. We've spent seven years consuming contaminated water that has seriously affected our health, our fields, what we eat, how we live, so the solutions have to take into account all of that and be comprehensive.”
Nearly seven years later, many residents say they are still fighting for access to clean water, health care and economic reactivation, and hope the meetings this weekend will not be more of the same broken promises.
In addition to remediation, they are asking for full participation in decision making, and transparency in the way money in the fund is spent.