They see simulation in response to complaint about the Umán gas pipeline

Dissatisfaction with the installation of a booster for the Mayakán Energy gas pipeline a few meters from the homes of the Gran Calzada subdivision, in Umán, It seems to have no end.

Several neighbors, including Abner Aragón Torres, They denounce direct effects on their quality of life, as well as a lack of transparency and sensitivity on the part of the authorities.

As we reported, after several weeks of damage, the neighbors protested last Sunday at the doors of Government Palaceand the day before yesterday they held a meeting with state authorities.

In the facilities of the Ministry of Economy and Laborthe neighbors asked to stop the work while a real dialogue process is carried out. However, They assure that there were no substantial agreements.

“We came with a proposed agreement, it was not really carried out. They received it from us, but the neighborhood perception is that everything is a simulation. Just like that, a simulation,” said the neighbor, who later met with another 200 neighbors in the subdivision’s roundabout against the work.

One of the main demands is the relocation of the booster, a natural gas compression station that, they say, represents a risk for the inhabitants of the subdivision.

“No one is fighting with the installation of a booster. Nobody is fighting with the use of natural gas. What are we fighting with? With the distance at which it is,” Aragón pointed out.

In addition to the perceived risk, neighbors They report annoyances such as constant noise, dust, heavy machinery operating a few meters from the homes and until structural damage to their properties.

“It is a ground chopper with backhoes, you can hear the laughter, the energy generators, a lot of machinery that although we can understand that it is a temporary process, it is basically in direct contact with our wall,” said Abner Aragón, whose home directly adjoins the place where the work is being carried out.

In that sense, the authorities carried out a visual inspection after the meeting with the neighbors. However, they assure that the panorama was carefully prepared.

“It was completely silent. But one thing is what was seen yesterday and another thing is what we experienced,” he explained.

The community also criticized the differential treatment during the meeting. While the company and government representatives were provided with drinks and amenities, the residents remained unattended. “When I came in tired after being at work along with my neighbors, we were not even offered water. In other words, you feel the total discrepancy,” he denounced.

In the absence of concrete answers, the inhabitants of Great Causeway They have started a process of neighborhood self-management that has been growing as the days go by. Of the 120 people who started the organization, today there are close to 200 and they hope to exceed 400 protesters in the coming days.

“We are organizing and informing ourselves because the reality, and my perception without trying to ensure, is that the purpose of that meeting was to tell us that we do not have any type of education related to what that work means,” he expressed.

One of the most tense moments of the visit was when they were denied access to the construction site for not having personal protective equipment.

The discomfort deepens with what they consider a deliberate strategy to make their participation difficult. Meetings are scheduled in working hours and in distant locations.

“They are making us bureaucratic obstacles, meeting during hours when we work, in places far from our homes,” Aragón accused. “They put us together at such times because they want me not to go.”

Furthermore, the neighbor warns that this It is not just a technical or logistical issuebut an example of a larger structural problem.

An issue of environmental racism

“This is an issue that has a first and last name and is called environmental racism. It is a class issue and it is a practically economic issue,” he said. “These companies are setting up shop in our backyards, in the most marginalized areas of our country.”

The movement calls for the relocation of the booster to a safe area away from homes. “We want the booster to go away. And there the answer was no, no, no,” he said forcefully.

Although attention has grown in recent days, they assure that the inconvenience began in August 2024, with damage to structures, constant noise, and effects on the mental and emotional health of residents.

“A neighbor had her wall broken,” he recalled. “There is an image where the backhoe drills a hole that reached our wall. The neighbor has evidence. There is a terrible level of negligence.”

Finally, Abner Aragón stressed that the community will continue to organize, demanding transparency, respect for their human rights and real security guarantees. “We are slowly realizing that we do not have to accept that our human rights are trampled on,” concluded Abner Aragón.

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