History of Environmenal Resistance in the 'RGV'
Channel: The Cheers Podcast
Date: 11/04/2023

This episode is about the history of the environmental resistance movement in the 'RGV' for the past ten years. To help me with this, I was joined by Bekah Hinojosa. A local environmental activist and organizer that has sacrificed so much in this resistance to protect our local ecology and return the land back into native hands.

The first half starts with public comments submitted in front of the ‘Brownsville’ Commission Meeting on February 7, 2023, by Sandra Trevino, Nancy Guevarra, Jose Jimenez, Emma Guevarra, Sara Stapleton-Barrera, Bekah Hinojosa, Juan Mancias, and Christopher Basaldu. 

All supported Bekah Hinojosa and demanded the charges against her to be dropped and for the former mayor Trey Mendez to be investigated for abuse of power. The charge of a Class B Misdemeanor for allegedly spray painting on an Elon Musk-funded mural with the tag “Gentrified, Stop SpaceX” is a clear threat to her but especially others resisting the continued colonization of this area.

The second half is a discussion with Bekah Hinojosa about her experience in these environmental and indigenous struggles for justice and sovereignty. 

The goal is to stop the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. To a large extent, stop the industrialization of our coastline, that includes SpaceX. There are major achievements and current actions to stop LNG development. 

“In 2021, a major lawsuit victory led by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Sierra Club, Vecinos para el Bienestar de la Comunidad, Costera, Shrimpers and Fisherman of the RGV, and Save RGV is forcing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to re-evaluate the environmental justice and climate impacts of Rio Grande LNG, Rio Bravo Pipeline, and Texas LNG. 3 Ongoing litigation and permitting delays due to community opposition continue to push back the timelines for these projects while further exposing the harms and risks they pose.”

Other major achievements discussed were the anti-LNG resolutions passed by local municipalities and special political subdivisions. They are: Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, Long Island Valley, The Town of Laguna Vista, Port Isabel, and Laguna Madre Water District. 

Friends of Laguna Madre, Save RGV, Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and residents in Cameron County have successfully pressured the Port Isabel School District to reject tax subsidies/breaks. These same community organizations were also able to convince some European banks to stop funding these risky fracked gas export terminals. 

One major item discussed was how inflation was being caused by continued colonization of the ‘RGV’ and of Ukraine by the U.S. government. 

Stop the Continued Genocide with Indigenous Sovereignty  

To help reclaim native lands, contact the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas through Instagram or Facebook. Please donate to the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe!

Website: http://carrizocomecrudonation.org/
Donate: http://carrizocomecrudonation.org/donate.html 
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Esto-k-reclaimvillages 
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/CCTTX
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrizoComecrudoTribeOfTexas/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estok_gna_somisek/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@estok_gna_somisek?lang=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCaHKKpjzbHuHYRsdxE-MSjA 
Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/CarrizoComecrudo
History: https://www.facebook.com/473365129390078/videos/242538657053346