Rio Grande Valley — The issue of people being provided contaminated water is rampant for example here in the Rio Grande Valley (“ Valley of Tears”). Our water is contaminated with lead, copper and pesticides. For years the fields have been sprayed with all kinds of chemicals with no regard to the issue of contamination of our river, which is where we get our drinking water.
Even now, town after town is notified by the state agency that regulates the quality of water that these towns are not complying with state regulations. The water is not tested for lead and pesticides, as required every 3 years.
This has been going on for many years. Yet no one has been held accountable for this so called oversights. These so called oversights were because it was a community made up of farmworkers, who lived in the colonias or low-income neighborhoods. Now it is because we have a high number of undocumented workers and retired or disabled farmworkers, so nobody cares.
Those that can afford to buy bottled water daily are the high paid politicians and other well paid people. We witness on a daily basis the death of a high number of people due to cancer. Definitely the high rate of cancer deaths in this area is linked to the contaminated water from the Rio Grande River, which is not filtered and treated properly.
But since capitalist do not need a high concentration of workers any more due to robotics, they figure let them die quicker so that they can save money by not having to provide jobs, housing and good medical care. We must not allow this to happen to us and must organize to make elected officials provide us with good quality drinking water. The people of Flint Michigan and Detroit and other parts of the country are fighting for good quality drinking water we, must do the same and fight for good quality water here in the Valley for us and for future generations.
The Future is in our Hands.
