Dam Budget Approved

(Mexico, NA 17 November) The federal budget for 2011, recently approved by the national Chamber of Deputies, includes $2.49 billion pesos for phase one of the “La Parota” hydro-electric project, according to PRI deputy Fermín Alvarado Arroyo. All politicians are treating the subject with extreme caution, as the opposition from residents in the proposed flood plain has been shrill. After pointing out how the dam project will be an impetus to economic development in Acapulco and its environs, they usually add as a coda that “the social concerns of the citizens most affected must be taken into consideration.” They commit to monitor the electric utility (CFE), to be sure that it does not “commit injustices, ride roughshod over the communities or damage the environment.”

Alvarado Arroyo added that one approach would be to link improvements in road infrastructure to the dam construction, like the stretch of highway from Pie de la Cuesta to El Conchero, the phase three improvements in Mozimba-Pie de la Cuesta, and the stretch of road from Cayaco to San Marcos in the Costa Chica. These projects add approximately $300 million pesos to the price tag.

PRD representative Ríos Piter added that the 2011 federal budget for Guerrero includes $400 million pesos for the “Guerrero Without Hunger” project and $70 million for the pilot program of scholarships for higher education of Guerrero’s youth. This program is a PRD-sponsored initiative that was first implemented in the states of Morelos and Chihuahua as a means of combating organized crime and preventing the emigration of youth from less advantaged areas of the country.