Residents of Cerro Gordo, Mexico, Oppose Quarry Blasting for Eastern Bypass Project

In the ejido of Cerro Gordo, Villa de Zaragoza, residents have protested the use of explosives by the company Hoganza SA de CV to extract a rock bank for the Libramiento Oriente highway project. The detonations, which began on 22 July, have caused cracks in homes, fallen rocks and widespread fear among the community.

The ejido’s representation bodies are accused of manipulating the assembly that approved the operation, while the Secretaría de Ecología y Gestión Ambiental (SEGAM) issued the environmental impact permit. The Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) also granted authorization for explosives. Residents claim earlier blasts already damaged several houses and demand that the quarrying stop.

Community leaders say the project, part of the larger eastern bypass, threatens local livelihoods and the integrity of the hill that gives the ejido its name, and they are seeking legal and administrative recourse to halt further detonations.