From a miner to a bread maker

The mine in Natividad, that lies within the territory of Capulálpam de Méndez, was established about 230 years ago by the Spanish colonizers. Later on, the Mexican government supported mining as a part of its plan of development. In the course of time, concessions to extract silver and gold were granted to various companies with international capital. The last one was Continuum Resources Ltd, a Canadian company.

For decades, the mine was pretty much the only source of employment for Capulálpam and its surrounding villages, yet with disastrous impacts on the environment as well as culture.

Néstor Baltazar Hernández Bautista thinks that the mine was one of the reasons why local people lost knowledge of their Zapotec language: "Miners were not allowed to speak Zapotec in the mine, because the Spanish did not understand them and they thought that they were speaking bad about them." Baltazar's grandmother belonged to the last generation that spoke Zapotec in Capulálpam.

We asked around for former miners and we were told only one name: Victor Pérez Jiménez who was later in his life also active in the fight against the mine operation. The others died, we were informed. Many of them had health issues because they spent years working in the mine environment.

Capulálpam de Méndez fought to close down the mine for years until they were able to prove to the government that the environment was being destroyed by mining and that the company in charge had no plans in terms of environmental protection. For a long time, the mine did not have permission for extraction, yet Capulalpám stated it was operating illegally.

Inside and outside the mine

We got instructions that Mr. Pérez Jiménez is now a bread maker in the Lupita Bakery and thus we started to walk up steep streets to find him. The soothing smell of freshly baked bread let us know from a block away where the Lupita Bakery is. And Mr. Peréz was there, too, taking bread out of big ovens.

Though hesitant at first, he agreed to tell us how his experience in the mine was. He worked there for 17 years, out of those, he spent 9 years underground.

Why did you work in the mine?

There were no other things to do in Capulálpam back then. Well, there were, but this (the mine) was our culture. A man got married, he had children and he went to work in the mine. The wife of the miner was a housewife. And when the sons turned 18, they also went to work inside the mine.

Why did you quit working in the mine?

I left after an accident I had while working. My spine got injured. Such was life. Once I could not go back to the mine, I did not know what else to do. In the end, I went to Oaxaca City and learned how to make bread. I was already old at that time. But, thank God, I could advance my life. A miner was a drunk, a womanizer. And his wife would wait for him with his children, cleaning, taking care of the animals. It was a mediocre life. And kids? The majority only finished primary school. Maybe two or three of them went to study in the city. Why? Because, there was no money. We used to eat beans every day, only rarely did we eat meat.

Did people in Capulálpam benefit in any way from the mine?

Looking at it from the perspective of many years that passed by, the mine was harmful. Even if a miner does not get injured, he has a very sad life. It is incredibly hot inside the mine. You look like you just had a shower as you are sweating all the time. And it is a dangerous place. Before, there was no ventilation. Miners that left the job, left with their lungs destroyed. A lot of people left and died shortly after, leaving their wives alone with their children.

What about the destruction of the environment?

That was the most serious. All the contamination from all the reagents, they poured them into the river. The contamination traveled all the way from here to the village that is all the way at the exit to the valley. I was a member of the committee of defense. I personally collected the samples of water and the river was all contaminated.

How did you manage to stop the mine?

We got together. We also visited all the affected villages so that they support us. And we worked with a geologist and took samples. Before the geologist joined us, they had ignored us. They got the geologist fired from his job when they found out he was helping us. I also had troubles. My daughter was scared. People that the mining company hired threw rocks at our roof, they beat me up. They broke my finger. They even came and offered me money, even the government offered me money. But I never accepted it. Firstly, we were working as volunteers, but after some time, we got the approval from the assembly and we had discussions with SEMARNAT (The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources), with their experts on environmental issues, biologists, geologists. In the end, when we started debates with delegates from the mine, we asked them to present permit payment titles. Back then, they did not need them, but the law had changed. They did not have them. After that, Capulálpam was asked to prove that we were the owners of the territory, and so we did. Then they asked the mining company to present their plan for the development in terms of environmental impact. The company did not have that one either. None of these documents were necessary when the company started mining. So, in the end, we came to a resolution about the closure of the mine.

What is the situation now (July 2019)?

The activities happening in the mine are only within the terms of maintenance. If the mine wants to operate again, they have to make new dams. But the mine is inside the territory of Capulálpam and Capulálpam does not want to sell the land. They even put a sign there that states The land is not for sale.