The Mexican Environmental Law Center, fishermen and activists from the state of Veracruz strongly complained this Monday during the first session of the Latin American Water Court on the damages, negligence, huge irregularities and unfair practices by the oil state-own company Pemex against people who live in the cities of Coatzacoalcos and Minatitlan.

Alejandra Serrano, lawyer of the Mexican Environmental Law Center, denounced to the members of the Court the details of the accident in Pemex occurred in December 2004 in which 5 workers suffered severe burns and extensive area of local fauna and flora got irreparable damage resulting in the loss of more than 1,500 jobs.

Lorenzo Lozada, a well known environmental activist in Veracruz, declared to the Court jury that the damages caused by the oil drilling are not new because there are documents dated in 1937 where local fishermen complained against the company ‘’El Aguila’’.

Lozada noted that the harm made by PEMEX not only may be seen in the destruction of environment and the ecosystem but also in the high incidence of cancer among local inhabitants and a harmful air contamination.

He detailed that a company from Texas recently made studies of air quality in the capital of Veracruz and found high levels of substances as acetone, butatone, disulfide carbon and tolvene as much as 4 times higher of the average permitted for human life.

Fisherman Angel Martinez, who was affected by the spilling of 5,000 barrels of oil in 2004, asked for justice and claimed for a deep revision of a case regarding unpaid wages by Pemex after it hired at least 100 local fishermen to clean the area who haven’t received any pay after two years of work done.

Martínez said that after the incident they got a compensation estimated in 630 dollars and signed a document to not become involved in any further complaint against Pemex.

‘‘Oil spilling continued from December 22 to the 28 and Pemex didn’t have the capacity to avoid it nor to send brigades to inspect the damaged area but after several days which clearly showed that the state-own company is unable and unwilling to protect the environment’’, said Martinez.

Protests, rallies and complains against Pemex in front of its offices or made to the mass media had not given any results because the oil company seems not to get noticed of the irregularities and still operates without any improvement in its safety and work conditions, indicated the fisherman.

OFFICIAL RESPONSE

Constantino Fernandez Cabrera, deputy director of industrial safety and environment protection of PEMEX, said in a letter sent to the Court that the Mexican oil company didn’t assisted to the ‘‘trial’’ because they weren’t invited in a proper manner concerning time or the way to do it.

In the letter Fernandez explained that the Court as an international organization should have sent the invitation to the office of global affairs of the Foreign Relations Ministry with at least one month in advance.

Besides, the letter said that all actions made to fix the damages in the Coatzacoalcos area after the oil spilling accident are backed up by documents properly filled at the official instances.

06/LG/GT