The Other Campaign Says No to a Cell Phone Tower in La Paz and a Gas Refinery in Ensenada

By Ginna Villarreal
The Other Journalism with the Other Campaign in Baja California Sur and Norte

October 23, 2006

From cell phones to the power of natural gas, at what price come those comforts that some attain and others do not? During the October 13 to 20 visit by Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos and the Other Campaign to the two states of Baja California, citizens testified that the price of “progress” is paid by those who least benefit from it. In Rinconada de los Olivos, in the city of La Paz, Baja California Sur, a tower looms over a marginalized barrio, and the people are fighting to get it removed. In Ensenada, Baja California, a massive gas refining plant – slated to begin converting liquefied natural gas back to gaseous form in 2007, at first proposed in United States territory but opposed by local governments – poses a grand environmental and cultural threat to the Pacific coast. This is a story of grievances, but also one of resistance.

The Tower in Rinconada de los Olivos

In a neighborhood of unpaved streets and modest housing, giant cell towers stand on a hilltop overlooking city neighborhoods, sentinels to corporate interests. As dusk turns to nightfall their flashing red lights are the signals of imperialism. However, there is one tower, down the hill, whose signal has been silent for over a year. In a barrio of La Paz called Rinconada de los Olivos a community has set up a daily vigil outside the steel fence, disrupting the maintenance and transmission from this station.

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