MEXICO: Tensions rise between Mennonite farmers and their neighbours in the Mexican state of Chihuahua over access to sparse sources of water

Record ID: 305788

  • Title: MEXICO: Tensions rise between Mennonite farmers and their neighbours in the Mexican state of Chihuahua over access to sparse sources of water
  • Date: 13th November 2012
  • Summary: CIUDAD CUAHTEMOC, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF CORN FIELD MENNONITE FARMER STANDING IN CORN FIELD VARIOUS OF TRACTOR OPERATING IN CORN FIELD MENNONITE FARMER GETTING IN TRACTOR TRACTOR OPERATING IN CORN FIELD MENNONITE MAN DRIVING TRACTOR COMBINE HARVESTER AND TRACTOR OPERATING IN CORN FIELD GENERAL VIEW OF LAS LAJAS DAM, SHOWING VERY LOW LEVELS OF WATER VARIOUS OF WELL CENTRE PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM WATERING FIELD VARIOUS OF STREAM SHOWING LOW LEVELS OF WATER YOUNG MENNONITE WOMEN WORKING IN RESTAURANT MENNONITE MEN IN RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JOHAN PETERS, LOCAL MENNONITE MAN, SAYING: "We are a bit worried about the water. There has been less rain these years. But we cannot stop planting (crops), because we need food. What we need to do is search for other alternatives, maybe using drip irrigation. With the governor or federal government we can look for support in installing drip irrigation systems, which is like a hose that trickles. It can save a lot of water." JOHAN PETERS AND ANOTHER MENNONITE MAN IN RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BERNARDO REMPEL, LOCAL MENNONITE MAN, SAYING: "I don't think it would be very easy for them to leave here and go to Russia, given the way conditions are now. (REPORTER ASKS IF THEY FEEL ATTACHED TO MEXICO). Yes, I was born in this town and I am very proud to be Mexican. I was born and grew up here in this region." FLOCK OF BIRDS FLYING OVER CIUDAD CUAHTEMOC MENNONITE MAN DRIVING TRACTOR ALONG ROAD IN CIUDAD CUAHTEMOC EXTERIOR OF ENNS HARDWARE STORE IN CIUDAD CUAHTEMOC MENNONITE AND MESTIZO MEN AT THE COUNTER OF ENNS HARDWARE STORE VARIOUS OF THE INTERIOR OF ENNS HARDWARE STORE EXTERIOR OF THE CUAHTEMOC AGRICULTURAL CREDIT UNION (UCACSA) PAINTING DEPICTING MENNONITE MEN ON TRACTOR UCACSA DIRECTOR PETER STOESZ THIESSEN SHOWING REPORTERS AN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF CIUDAD CUAHTEMOC (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UCACSA DIRECTOR PETER STOEZ THIESSEN, SAYING: "As in every society, I would say that there are people who get involved in crime. But, for the most part, this community is a very healthy one. I do not think there is such thing as a perfect community." PETER STOESZ THIESSEN DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UCACSA DIRECTOR PETER STOEZ THIESSEN, SAYING: "I don't doubt that there are small groups with whom the relationship has been fractured a little bit. But in general, the relationship between the Mennonite community and the Mestizo culture is excellent." CHIHUAHUA, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) EL BARZON LEADER HERACLIO RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ INSIDE GOVERNMENT BUILDING IN THE CITY OF CHIHUAHUA (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HERACLIO RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ, NATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR FOR EL BARZON, SAYING: "We are at a disadvantage, but we are Mexicans. We are going to stay here and we are going to live here. Our grandchildren will live here. Our children as well. They (the Mennonites) are not. They've gone to Bolivia, they've gone to Panama, Uruguay. They are threatening that they will go to Russia. Look, thousands of Mennonites have left here, as millions of Mexicans have gone to the United States, and nothing happens." CIUDAD CUAHTEMOC, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) MENNONITE MAN SPEAKING LOW GERMAN AS HE MAKES PHONE CALL VARIOUS OF MENNONITE MEN REPAIRING TRACTOR
  • Embargoed: 28th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Conflict,Environment,Politics,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVACC0GBP2N9FMTUBX92C3PIKYEB
  • Story Text: Nearly a century after the first Mennonite colonies were founded in the arid semi-desert of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, tensions are rising between Mennonite and "Mestizo" (mixed race) communities over access to scarce water which both communities desperately need for agriculture.
    The area around Ciudad Cuahtemoc is home to thousands of Mennonite families, who trace their roots to the 16th century Anabaptists and are named after Menno Simons, a 16th century Dutch Anabaptist leader. Most of the Mennonites in the area still speak to each other in Low German, an old dialect that was developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula Delta area of what is now Poland.
    Over the years, Mennonite and Mestizo farmers have managed to transform part of the arid and sun-baked region into one of the most agriculturally productive areas in Mexico by carefully cultivating corn, cotton, bean estates and apple orchards. In recent years, local Mennonites have also opened successful businesses and have even established an important local credit union.
    In recent years, however, the state of Chihuahua has been plagued by severe water shortages and a series of droughts which have sparked tensions between Mennonite and Mestizo Mexicans in the area. Because of the lack of rainfall, water levels in local reservoirs have fallen dramatically, reducing the amount of water available to irrigate agricultural areas.
    Some organizations, particularly El Barzon, a loosely organised national union of agricultural and industrial workers, have accused local Mennonite farmers of drilling un-registered and illegal wells. Local Mennonite leaders, however, insist that they have registered and paid permission fees to operate the wells which are located on their properties.
    Johan Peters, a local Mennonite corn farmer, said that he hopes that the Mennonite community can work with state and federal authorities to find ways to be more economical with their scant water.
    "We are a bit worried about the water. There has been less rain these years. But we cannot stop planting (crops), because we need food. What we need to do is search for other alternatives, maybe using drip irrigation. With the governor or federal government we can look for support in installing drip irrigation systems, which is like a hose that trickles. It can save a lot of water," he said.
    Many of the Mennonites trace their roots back to Russia, where many emigrated at the invitation of Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
    After the Bolshevik Revolution swept across Russia in 1917, many Mennonite communities fled to Canada, but felt persecuted by laws requiring compulsory attendance at public schools and requiring them to learn English. In 1921, they reached an agreement with the Mexican government - who vowed to respect their customs - to buy thousands of hectares in the municipality of Ciudad Cuahtemoc.
    The lack of water and increasingly tense relationship with their Mestizo neighbours has led some Mennonites to consider the possibility of leaving Mexico to return to Russia, their ancestral homeland.
    In August, a group of 11 Mennonites visited the Russian region of Tartarstan, located in the Volga Federal District, and met with local community and business leaders to ascertain the feasibility of leaving Mexico for Russia.
    Corn farmer Bernardo Rempel said he thought it was unlikely that many Mennonites would leave Mexico, which is the only home most of them have ever known.
    "I don't think it would be very easy for them to leave here and go to Russia, given the way conditions are now. (REPORTER ASKS IF THEY FEEL ATTACHED TO MEXICO). Yes, I was born in this town and I am very proud to be Mexican. I was born and grew up here in this region," he said.
    The Mennonites' situation is further complicated by the presence of drug trafficking organisations who operate in Ciudad Cuahtemoc, which sits along a strategic trafficking corridor which stretches north towards the U.S. border.
    Peter Stoez Thiessen, the director of the Cuahtemoc Agricultural Credit Union (UCACSA), said that the Mennonite community has largely managed to avoid becoming involved in organised crime.
    "As in every society, I would say that there are people who get involved in crime. But, for the most part, this community is a very healthy one. I do not think there is such thing as a perfect community," he said.
    Thiessen added that the he believes the relationship between Mennonite and Mestizo residents of Ciudad Cuahtemoc is very positive.
    "I don't doubt that there are small groups with whom the relationship has been fractured a little bit. But in general, the relationship between the Mennonite community and the Mestizo culture is excellent," he said.
    In July, however, tensions boiled over when a group of of "Barzonistas" forcibly destroyed several dams and closed a number of wells which they claimed were being operated illegally. Further clashes took place in August and September as Barzon activists blocked roads to pressure the Mexican government into acting.
    On October 22, tensions were further exacerbated when Barzon activist Ismael Solorio Urrutia and his wife were shot and killed in Ciudad Cuahtemoc. Mexican authorities are investigating the murder, but so far no arrests have been made and no motive has been provided.
    Heraclio Rodriguez Gomez, a national co-ordinator for El Barzon, said that he is not concerned about the possibility of Mennonites leaving the area if the water issue is not resolved.
    "We are at a disadvantage, but we are Mexicans. We are going to stay here and we are going to live here. Our grandchildren will live here. Our children as well. They (the Mennonites) are not. They've gone to Bolivia, they've gone to Panama, Uruguay. They are threatening that they will go to Russia. Look, thousands of Mennonites have left here, as millions of Mexicans have gone to the United States, and nothing happens," he said.
    Smaller Mennonite communities also exist in other Mexican states, such as Zacatecas, Durango, Campeche and Quintana Roo.
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