Over 200 mothers and fathers from the 'Agustín Melgar' kindergarten and the 'Abías Domínguez Alejandro' primary school, located in the Lázaro Cárdenas del Río neighborhood in Paraíso, Tabasco, have demanded the immediate relocation of both school facilities. They are adjacent to the Olmeca refinery in Dos Bocas. In a press conference, they stated that on November 19, 2024, they delivered a letter to Mario Delgado Carrillo, head of the Public Education Secretariat (SEP), formally requesting the relocation of the schools and the implementation of urgent protective measures, but have received no response from the agency. They claim that the schools are less than 500 meters from high-risk facilities, such as the sour water tanks and the sulfur recovery plant, from which hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic and potentially lethal gas, could be released. 'We need clear and quick answers from the education authorities and those responsible for the refinery,' the parents stated. 'These schools were built right next to the Olmeca refinery; they are wall-to-wall. If a disaster occurs one day, there will be no time to run.' The schools are immediate neighbors to the sour water tanks and the sulfur recovery plant, from which hydrogen sulfide, a potentially lethal gas, could leak. The parents also noted that since the refinery's operation, gas smells, constant deafening noise, black smoke, and particle fallout, as well as symptoms of dizziness, nausea, and respiratory problems in children, have become commonplace, forcing school evacuations on several occasions. 'This is a ticking time bomb. We cannot go on like this. What was once a true Paradise is now a place that sickens our children and threatens them every day,' mothers and fathers denounced. 'Removing our children from danger is a life-or-death preventive measure.' The parents made an urgent call to President Claudia Sheinbaum and Governor of Tabasco, Javier May, 'not only as authorities but as mothers and fathers they are,' for them to assume their responsibility and act immediately. Despite this, they denounced that there are no adequate safety protocols, alarms, or clear evacuation routes in the schools. 'We cannot go on like this. We are sure that you would do anything to remove and protect your daughters and sons from these risks. We address you with deep concern and urgency for the health and integrity of our daughters and sons. We are families that bet on the education of our children so that they have a prosperous future and a better life than ours. No one assumes their responsibility.' The parents supported the concrete requests of the mothers and fathers: the immediate relocation of the kindergarten and primary schools outside the risk zone; the opening of a formal, constant, and accessible communication channel that provides sufficient, truthful information, with authorities capable of making decisions to address the problem; and the development and dissemination of a civil protection plan that guarantees a timely and effective response to any emergency related to the refinery's operation while the schools are being relocated. 'We call for the guarantee of the right to a healthy environment for these girls and boys. If we have to fight, we will fight. We want health, not disease. We demand our right to a healthy environment, to health, to life, and to a dignified future for our daughters and sons. Removing our children from danger is a matter of life and death. If not, they warned, the federal government would be endangering the lives and integrity of minors and teachers, as well as violating their constitutional right to a healthy environment, enshrined in article four of the constitution. From the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, A.C. (Cemda) and Climate Connections, we join the demands of these families. The schools have been covered in coke: a black, sticky waste that, as it sticks to the walls and roofs, sticks in the lungs of our children. We are not asking for privileges. This is a ticking time bomb. Do not wait for a tragedy to occur to act,' the families warned. However, since the installation and operation of the refinery, our reality has changed radically. This flagrantly violates Mexican educational regulations, which prohibit the location of schools in the vicinity of dangerous industrial facilities. President Sheinbaum and Governor May must resolve this problem urgently, coordinatedly, and with the participation of the affected families.'
