Mexico: "They're killing us anyway"

"Fuera Ecoltec!" (Get out Ecoltec!) protesters chanted in a demonstration Sunday in the Mexican town of Apaxco, one year after the start of a community blockade of a toxic waste processing plant run by a Swiss company. From the highway visitors see the grey bulk of the factories against the sky. A banner reading Fuera Ecoltec! greets visitors to this industrial town 85 km north of Mexico City. Citing health complaints they link to alleged pollution by Ecoltec, a subsidiary of Swiss cement maker Holcim, the people of Apaxco and neighbouring communities are trying to permanently close down the plant. The protesters have already done so at least temporarily since May 6, 2009, when they set up a kind of camp on the street that leads to the plant's entrance. "We will not allow Ecoltec to continue operating here," Gil said. "What can happen to us? They're killing us anyway." According to the preliminary results of a health survey carried out in October by the non-governmental Centro de Diagnóstico y Alternativas para Afectados por Tóxicos (CEDAAT–Centre for Diagnosis and Alternatives for Those Affected by Toxic Substances), the health problems found among the local population include headaches, a persistent cough, sore throat and irritated eyes.