The next month, Elizabeth attended the meeting at the town hall with a couple of her ranch hands. She didn’t take anyone from her own family, afraid that they might cause too much disruption during the meeting. When they arrived, she saw that the room was already packed, the chairs all taken. People stood along the walls and in the doorways, gazing suspiciously at the stage.
“It looks as though we aren’t the only ones who want answers,” Elizabeth murmured to Jorge, who had come with her.
“Nor should we be, Senora,” he answered grimly. “This is our land. We have a right to know what the government thinks they’re going to do with it.”
Elizabeth nodded, and moved to stand on the right side of the room, where she had a clear view of the stage. She wanted to see these people that were making plans for her land.
At the head of the room, on a slightly elevated stage, she saw Ignacio Sanchez seated next to another man. The stranger was restless in his chair, looking around and flipping through the stack of papers in his hands, as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Jorge, who had also noticed the man, whispered, “I thought there were supposed to be two men.”
“That’s right. I was told there would be two men, one from each department. But it looks like they’ve chosen to send only one. I don’t like this, Jorge,” she responded. Only one man, rather than the two they’d promised – already they were lying to the people, and treating them with less respect than they deserved.
She narrowed her eyes. She’d hoped that this would come to nothing, but now she was starting to suspect that it was worse than Sanchez had led her to believe.
Ignacio Sanchez lifted himself from his chair and walked to the podium, raising his hands up towards the large crowd to quiet them. He looked across the many faces, smiling slightly at the turnout, and Elizabeth wondered abruptly if he’d expected that at all. Or if he’d thought the people would simply pretend this wasn’t happening.
“Welcome, everybody! Welcome! I am glad to see so many of you here today.” The crowd quieted down, and everybody turned toward the stage. “I know everybody has many questions for our guests – I mean guest – today, so please keep your comments as short as possible. And please welcome our guest. He has come a long way to be here.”
Light applause came from the crowded room.
The abogado noticed the weak response and continued. “I know I told everybody that there were supposed to be two people at this meeting. I was told that, as well.” He was smiling and trying to placate the restless crowd, now, but suddenly Elizabeth didn’t believe a word he said. They were paying him to handle the people, she realized. He was on the government’s side, not the land’s. “Unfortunately, the two people from the Land Use and Water Use departments were delayed in Mexico City and could not make it today.” He shuffled his feet and rearranged the papers on his podium. “Instead, we have Mr. Luis Torres, from the Banco Centro, all the way from Mexico City. Please give him a big hand and welcome him!” The abogado clapped hard and frantically motioned Mr. Torres to the podium.
The stranger slowly rose from his chair and shuffled to the front of the stage, arranging and re-arranging his papers. “Uh, my name is Luis Torres,” he began.
“We know that already!” somebody shouted from the crowd.
Ignacio Sanchez stepped forward to interrupt. “Please, everybody, please let Mr. Torres speak. He came a long way to be here. Please be generous with your patience.” Motioning to Mr. Torres to continue, the abogado returned to his seat.
The man glared into the crowd, then looked back at the papers in front of him. “Like I said, my name is Luis Torres and I am from the Banco Centro. The representatives from the Land Use and Water Use departments were unable to attend, so I was sent to help out in any way possible.”
The crowd became restless at that point and people started to turn to walk out the doors. Elizabeth watched them, understanding exactly what they thought. Evidently, Jorge saw it as well.
“They didn’t even respect us enough to send their people to answer questions,” he said, understanding dawning. “They’ve sent a replacement. Already they’re failing us.”
Elizabeth could see that Mr. Torres was a very young man, probably still in his early twenties. He was thin and pale, and his hair was already growing sparse. Despite that, he looked like the sort of man who probably still lived with his parents, and she guessed this was his first trip out of Mexico City. He appeared to be very uncomfortable, and he certainly wasn’t familiar with the subject at hand. Still, maybe he could answer at least some questions.
She stepped forward from her place on the wall. “Please, everyone. Please give Mr. Torres a chance to speak and answer our questions. He’s not who we were expecting, but perhaps he can give us some answers.”
Ignacio stood up and nodded his head in gratitude. “Gracias, Señora Arroyo. Gracias. Please, everybody, take your seats and we will do our best to answer your questions.”
At that, Mr. Torres began to speak. “Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been given a prepared statement to read from the Water and Land Use departments, since they were unable to attend this meeting. I hope the statement will give you some of the answers you’re seeking.”
Another grumble rose from the crowd.
Mr. Torres cleared his throat and began to read from his papers, in a slow, methodical voice. “El Alto Grande, as the new dam is being called at this point, is scheduled to be built near the town of Selama, approximately 25 miles south of the US/Mexico border.”
The crowd began rumbling then, talking amongst themselves about Selama, and where it was exactly.
The abogado stood up with difficulty. “Please, everybody, let Mr. Torres finish his statement.”
“Thank you, Abogado Sanchez. As I was saying, El Alto Grande will be built near the town of Selama, and all laborers will be hired from that town. A start date has not been set at this time, since official planning is not yet completed. Construction cannot start until all engineering is completed.”
Elizabeth jumped up quickly, unable to contain herself at this surprising news. “May I ask a question?”
Sanchez nodded. “Go right ahead, Señora Arroyo. As an introduction, everybody here knows Señora Arroyo. Mr. Torres, Señora Arroyo is a member of the family that owns Rancho Arroyo. They are the largest landowners here, and their ranch sits near the site of the dam, on the San Gabriel.”
Mr. Torres acknowledged Elizabeth with a quick nod and a slightly puzzled look. “Go ahead.”
“According to your statement, official planning has started, but has not been completed.”
“According to this statement, yes, that is true,” replied Mr. Torres.
“Abogado, with all due respect, that’s different than what you said four months ago in your office. You told me then that planning had not started. That we had years before this became an issue.”
Sanchez cleared his throat uncomfortable, and glanced to the side. “That’s true, Señora. However, that was four months ago, and I told you everything I knew at that time. Everything I had been told. Evidently that was not the full story. But there is little to worry about, I’m sure. The plans are not complete, and these things do take a lot of time.”
“Mr. Torres,” Elizabeth said, directing, her next question to him. “Does your statement say how long this project will take?”
“Yes it does, if I may continue.”
“Please do, sir.”
Mr. Torres nodded and continued to read from his statement. “The planning stages are expected to take two to five years, and the construction stages are scheduled to take another two to five years after that. However, a project of this size can have many variations, so these numbers are only projections, and are subject to change at any time.”
“Those are some wide timeframes, Mr. Torres,” shouted one person from the crowd.
“They certainly are,” shouted another person. “How are we to plan for this if we don’t know when it’s going to happen?”
“How is this going to affect the San Gabriel River and the town of Santa Maria?” a third person called out.
“Are we going to lose of our land?” another person asked.
Abogado Sanchez stood up again. “Please let Mr. Torres finish his statement. I believe all your questions will be answered.”
Mr. Torres continued, “Once the dam is complete, water will start to accumulate behind it, which, over time, will spill over the edges of the current San Gabriel River. The purpose of the dam is to provide a consistent supply of water for agricultural fields, and to prevent flooding downstream towards the border. This will help to further regulate the Rio Bravo.
“Until the planning is complete, it is difficult to know how much land will be covered by the overflow from the San Gabriel. That will be determined after planning, and once construction begins. A project of this size can have changes along the way, and construction must adapt to those changes.
“The Land and Water Use departments are asking each landowner to have ready all the documents pertaining to the ownership of their land. Based on those documents, the government will provide compensation for the use of the land, should the lake and dam infringe on it.”
Elizabeth gasped, stunned. So they were admitting that this dam was going to happen, and that it would block the river. Not only that, but the water blockage would seep onto the land around the river. It would force the people off land they’d owned for decades.
It would force she and her family off their ranch. They were going to lose the farm that her husband’s grandparents had built.
Loud grumbling and chatter started in the crowd, and ran from wall to wall. Suddenly one farmer spoke up. “Abogado Sanchez, what if we don’t have that paperwork? Some of use have been on our land for generations.”
The abogado quickly glanced at Mr. Torres, and then back to the crowd. “Don’t worry everyone, we will get all of our questions answered. There’s still plenty of time.”
A louder grumble started again and did not subside. Around her, Elizabeth could hear people mumbling about the fact that they were going to lose their land. She had to agree; if they didn’t have the paperwork the government required, they would be forced off without compensation. And then they’d be homeless, as well as very broke.
Mr Torres finished his statement quickly, seeming to recognize that the crowd was growing restless and unhappy. “The Land and Water Use departments would like to thank everyone for their time. Please contact Abogado Igancio Sanchez with any further questions. He will be our main contact for the town of Santa Maria. Thank you!”
He quickly folded up his papers, shoved them into his coat pocket, and made a beeline out the side door, pushing past several men twice his size. Elizabeth watched him go, surprised and horrified. The man hopped into a waiting carriage and was whisked away, probably toward the closest train station. He obviously didn’t mean to stay. Or answer any questions. Or give them any reassurances about the dam and loss of their land.
The disapproving crowd, seeing the object of their rage escape, rushed toward the abogado, shouting.
Disgruntled, Elizabeth nodded to her ranch hands to meet her outside. “Let’s get back to the ranch. We need to talk with the rest of the family.”
No comments:
Post a Comment