The drought in the north of Mexico

National
Jose Luis Luege: It is false that tarahumaras has died from hunger and thirst
The drought in the north of Mexico
By: Carlos Damián January 19, 2012
The director of Conagua says that “the lack of water is not severe."
México. - Although the director of the National Commission of water (Conagua, in Spanish), José Luis Luege Tamargo (JLLT), it sustained last Monday, (1/16/2012) that are false the versions have more than enough deaths of indigenous raramuris (tarahumara) for the foods and water lack, it clarified that the drought that Chihuahua faces is in the desert area of the state, not in the mountain, like they has spread falsely. He adds that the mountain has access sources to the liquid, what doesn't happen to other areas of the state. The four states where there is a serious problem of drought they are: Coahuila, Zacatecas, Durango and Chihuahua.

For this reason they have been taken actions to face this problem, “all the data that gave of deaths are false, they don't correspond with the reality", the managing JLLT mentions. The governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez of Chihuahua denied that the situation of mannish that one suffers in the state due to the drought favourable suicides, disclosed version the weekend in social nets, to which considered a mean expression, far away from the reality, very serious and of bad faith". He added that it has been missed the truth, the massive suicides have not registered", (…) the emergency situation is serious, but it doesn't exist that death toll that one speaks."

Tarahumara a marginal history and discrimination
After the diffusion of inhabitants' of towns raramuris of the mountain of Chihuahua supposed suicides where the raramuris lives for the famine that suffers in that region, the municipal president of Carichí, Ignacio Varela Ortega -one of whose subordinates had confirmed the deceases - he said to ignore the fact and he added that if that happened, at least it was not here". For what plays to the deaths for six people's malnutrition in the own municipality of Carichí, denounced the weekend for the rural organization The Barzon, the state and municipal authorities have maintained a hermetic attitude and they have been limited to admit that, due to the loss of agricultural production as consequence of the intense droughts of last year, the inhabitants of the mountain “yes, it is; they require of the solidarity help of the Mexicans."

What should make the Mexican State is to take advantage of the situation that has been formed around this marginal history and historical misery of indigenous, on an endemic situation of the mountain and to thoroughly revise the structural conditions of this feeble and sad situation that it has sowed their root ones in this region per centuries, to point out like the programs of social attendance have failed. Up to now an atypical drought has been lived where 11 months there has not been rain and there is not anything of snow neither of icy strong. The lack of snow leaves plagues, this is recurrent, and although they are in a difficult situation that will give bigger problems.

Independently that you confirms or not the referred deceases, the commotion mediatised caused in recent days by the diffusion of those versions has put low again the look of the public opinion the marginal circumstance, defenseless and misery that you/they suffer the autochthonous communities of the mountain tarahumara. In this context of marginal of the indigenous towns it can be spoil, pillaging and cultural, economic and environmental oppression that it comes behind from centuries, from the strong processes of Catholic evangelization and the earth spoil for settlers novo-Hispanics of the XVII and XVII century, English settlers that threw them from the plains to live in the mountain in the ethnic cleaning of the old west and in the desert.

The famine and historical misery
In the current time the pillaging of the forests of the region for national and foreign companies, plundering the little thing that it is of the timber wealth, crawling to the poverty to the communities indigenous Tarahumaras, Tepehuanes for big agriculture - exporters, small and medium half-caste merchants and even drug dealers organizations. They don't stop to have participation of this tragedy government's municipal levels, indolence and caciques’ history the state administrations of Chihuahua, Durango and Sinaloa in whose territories settle the towns raramuris, and the own federation that usually debates among their proverbial deafness toward the autochthonous communities and the application of political indigenous characterized by the paternalism, the incomprehension and the political and electoral usufruct of supposed beneficiaries.

What should make is a geographical and human mapping, profiling regions that are assisted by the government and that a armored is made so that they don't enrich politically and electorally with the help that a lot of people contribute, and in this mapped the help should not be duplicated for not leaving unprotected to other communities. The government should give grain, mainly corn and bean to distribute in exchange for work in the communities, dialoguing with them to know its necessities. The state when giving the things generates dependence, but the autonomy of the natives should be respected, to know how to assist the causes, not the effects. Still lack that the winter passes for it is seen it that the situation of misery will be increased; we wait that the state and civil organizations of the mountain net try to avoid the suicide of indigenous for desperation, and the death of children for hunger.

To make matters worse the alimentary crisis that opens up on the natives of that mountain area, among them the raramuris happens with the backdrop of an unjustifiable political handling of the funds for the attention of the natural disasters: on Monday (15/1/0212), the Ministry of Social Development informed that the current federal administration will dedicate 733.33 million dollars to palliate the effects of the droughts happened last year, but it is forced to remember that some days ago, the Federal Executive buried in an it stretches and it loosens with the Chamber of Deputies after that instance legislative approved a similar package of help, with the argument that it lacked constitutional attributions for such in fact.

The disinformation that has prevailed up to now regarding the Tarahumara’s deaths is indicative of the contempt with which they usually behave the authorities of all the levels toward population groups as the one referred. For that reason, beyond the immediate shipment of pantries and bed-clothes to the Tarahumara’s mountain, it is required of political will to combat the extended poverty that falls on the raramuris and to revert decades of a scorn and a state indolence that are interrupted only in presidential tours and public acts, or like it happens now, in electoral times. (La Jornada, política, p. p. 4-6, January 14, 2011).