KANASÍN, Yucatán — A newly announced Heineken brewery in the municipality of Kanasín has sparked outrage among Maya communities and environmental advocates, who warn the facility could trigger a severe water crisis in the region. The plant, part of the sprawling Indara II industrial park, is expected to extract millions of liters of water annually from an already fragile aquifer system.
Local Maya leaders say they were not consulted about the project, accusing both the government and Heineken of ignoring Indigenous rights and environmental concerns. “This is another mega-project imposed without our consent,” said one community representative. “We are being turned into a sacrifice zone for corporate profit”.
The brewery is being built on land linked to businessman Mauricio Montalvo Vales, previously accused of illegal land seizures. Critics argue the development continues a troubling pattern of industrial expansion—such as pig farms and the Maya Train—that disregards Indigenous voices and threatens the region’s delicate ecosystem.
Water scarcity is already a growing issue in Yucatán, where underground rivers and cenotes are vulnerable to over-extraction and contamination. Experts warn that the brewery’s water consumption could exacerbate shortages, affecting agriculture, daily life, and sacred Maya water sources.
Heineken claims it held consultations in December and will operate sustainably, but community members dispute this, saying they were excluded from decision-making. Human rights organizations have called for a halt to construction until proper environmental assessments and Indigenous consultations are conducted.
As tensions rise, Maya communities vow to resist the project, framing it not just as an environmental threat but as a fight for cultural survival. “Water is life,” one activist said. “And we will not let it be stolen.”
With information from The Guardian
