The Maya Collective of Los Chenes, the Mayan Alliance for the Bees Kaabnaloón, and the Human Rights Center Utsik Kuxtal have called on state authorities to comply with federal court injunctions in Campeche and Sinaloa aimed at protecting bees. These injunctions mandate the prohibition of pesticides, aerial spraying, and the restoration of areas damaged by deforestation.
During a press conference, Deysi Aracely Pech Martín from the Colectivo Maya de los Chenes and Marco Antonio Cupul Cu from the Alianza Maya por las Abejas, Kaabnaloón, announced the ruling by the fourth District Judge of Sinaloa, Mónica Vianey Perera Gutiérrez. The ruling requires federal agencies such as Semarnat, the Ministry of Agriculture, Senasica, and Cofepris, as well as state agencies like the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Energy of Campeche (Semabicce) and the Ministry of Agricultural Development, to immediately comply with these measures.
Jaime González from the Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Ecosur San Cristóbal de las Casas) reported that at least six thousand beehives were lost in 2023 and 2024 in the Mayan communities of Ich EK and Suc Tuc in Campeche, as well as in Tizimín, Yucatán. These losses resulted in economic damages exceeding 13 million pesos and caused significant environmental harm.
González explained that agrochemicals like fipronil and neonicotinoids spread over a range of seven kilometers, killing bees and insects, along with other undocumented losses.
Legal Recognition and Prohibition
Legal advisor Jorge Fernández Mendiburu emphasized the importance of the injunction for the legal recognition of bee protection. The judge highlighted the crucial role bees play in the ecosystem and their cultural significance in beekeeping, a pre-Hispanic activity. The injunction orders the total prohibition of agrotoxins already banned in Europe, the full application of the decree restricting glyphosate use, and the prohibition of aerial spraying.
Restoration and Community Involvement
The ruling also requires investigating and sanctioning illegal deforestation, creating a participatory program with local communities to establish biological corridors, and restoring damaged ecosystems. Additionally, the injunction demands declaring bees as subjects of rights and recognizing Mayan communities as guardians of these insects due to their ancestral and cultural connection.
Marco Antonio Cupul Cu of the Mayan Alliance for Bees, Kaabnaloón, Utsik Kuxtal highlighted the resolution of the Fourth District Court in Culiacán, Sinaloa, which supports the Second Court of Campeche’s ruling for bee protection. He recalled that this fight began on June 11, 2018. In Tizimín, 700 beehives were devastated by pesticides and agrotoxins, leading to a decline in beekeeping activity and contamination of water tables.
The collectives continue to advocate for the protection of bees and the enforcement of these crucial measures to safeguard the environment and the livelihoods of local communities.
Source: La Jornada
