Residents of Chalco block a road to demand help from the government

CHALCO, State of Mexico (El Universal).— A group of residents from the Jacalones 2 and Emiliano Zapata neighborhoods yesterday blocked the Mexico-Cuautla federal highway near the Santa Cruz Amalinalco neighborhood to demand that authorities at all three levels of government help them because the level of rainwater in those communities has not dropped for several days.

The protesters gathered on the road that connects municipalities in the southeast of the State of Mexico with communities in the state of Morelos, near where the construction of the Santa Martha-Chalco Trolleybus Modal Transfer Center (Cetram) is being carried out, to prevent vehicular traffic in both directions.

Residents carried signs demanding a solution to the flooding they have been experiencing since August 2.

They accuse the authorities of being negligent, negligent and ignorant, because for more than 15 days they have not been able to unclog a section of the old Solidaridad Collector, which prevents the evacuation of wastewater and rainwater.

They also reported that the families of Jacalones and Emiliano Zapata have not been assisted because all official efforts have been concentrated on the Culturas de México neighborhood, and they are therefore demanding equal treatment.

Due to the rains on Friday and Saturday, these communities in Chalco were flooded again because the water level rose and spread over a wide area.

The closure of the highway caused traffic congestion throughout that region of the Valley of Mexico.

Hugo Bautista is a digital platform vehicle operator, but he has not been able to go to work for more than a week because his car is in the yard of his house in the Jacalones 2 neighborhood under sewage.

He was hoping that after last week’s storm, the amount of water on his property and in the streets would decrease so he could go out to work, but it has increased in the last 72 hours.

“Unfortunately, instead of going down, it started to rise, so the water overtook us. I couldn’t get my car out because it was so full outside…”

Chalco dredging works

Authorities have reinforced the extraction of residual liquid and rainwater in colonies of Chalco.

Water extraction

This weekend, the government of the State of Mexico reinforced the extraction of wastewater and rainwater that has flooded more than 600 homes on approximately 20 streets in the Culturas de México and Jacalones neighborhoods, in the municipality of Chalco.

Support from the Army and Navy

The Mexican Army’s DN-III plan was also expanded, with the installation of two water treatment plants to support the population and the installation of a kitchen to prepare hot food. Personnel from the Mexican Navy also joined in the work.

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