Members of the Yaqui Tribe in Mexico have begun their roadblocks again on the Mexico-Nogales highway to protest the continued operation of the Independencia Pipeline, according to OOSKAnews.com.
Earlier this month, an Eighth Circuit Court judge in the Mexican city of Ciudad Obregón ordered that the Independencia Pipeline stop operations. Judge Octavio Bolaños Valadez’s ruling was in response to an amparo injunction filed against the pipeline by the Tribe, according to the Gudalajara Reporter. Then on July 14th, however, the third appellate court of the fifth circuit threw out Bolaños’ decision and ordered the pipeline to continue operations.
Tomás Rojo Valencia, a spokesman for the tribe, said last week that the blockade would be carried out from 6:00-8:00 AM, 9:00-10:00 AM and 4:00-6:00 PM. Opponents of the pipeline will travel to Mexico City to protest the “water theft” being committed, he told the Guadalajara Reporter.
After signing a treaty with the Ministry of the Interior, the tribe stopped blocking the road for about approximately four months.
Sonora State Governor Guillermo Padrés Elías said the state would soon carry out new negotiations with the Ministry of the Interior to stop the blockade, according to the Guadalajara Reporter.