In the Mexican state of Guanajuato, the town of La Cantera has a serious water quality problem. Independent professional testing and verifications have determined its drinking water drawn from the town’s well has a high degree of radioactivity associated with volcanic rocks leading to the formation of radon gas surfacing below from the groundwater where it mixes with the water and when entering the body radon remains permanently which was determined to be the cause of the death of three small children in La Cantera by leukemia.
The mothers of the deceased children address the town council and mayor to delve deeper into the issue of poisoned water causing the death of their children and failing to receive any redress form MAYOYE a civil group pressing for further investigation.
After the death of the three children health authorities appeared suddenly in La Cantera with loudspeakers asking the townsfolk to attend a meeting to reassure them there is no link between the deaths and “contaminated water”. Their view is that the deaths are normal. They never returned.
The Governor of Guanajuato states on a newscast show me what caused the deaths and I’ll act. He does not say he will investigate but leaves it to water quality complainants to show him causality between the deaths of the three children and the water quality before he acts.
The water commissioner of the national water commission CONAGUA in Guanajuato, Humberto Navarro, expresses the crucial importance of adequate water supplies for investors, industry and farmers. Guanajuato is a huge exporter of produce to the United States and Canada and enormous quantities of water are required. He dismisses testing results as they were not conducted by any governmental body rather through a university expert, Dr. Adríán Ortega, with expertise in water quality.
Dr. Ortega notes the groundwater supplying La Cantera is between 5,000-35,000 years old and is being drawn up at unsustainable levels and the water remaining contains high levels of fluoride and arsenic that in addition to use for agribusiness and the numerous auto manufacturing plants in Guanajuato is the source of water for households. Fluoride in concentrated levels decreases a child’s IQ by as much as 40% through its damage to neurotransmitters. Some 50,000 to 60,000 people in the area rely on this water for household use.
The MAYOYE ladies continue the struggle for clean water rights suffering harassment, job loss, delegitimization, threats and a lack of co-operation from any level of government.
After the making of the documentary in 2024 the newly elected mayor of La Cantera acknowledged MAYOYE’s efforts and publicly promised to reopen the issue.
Mexican politicians and bureaucrats appear to place more importance on industrial development than the damage caused to the health of its citizens by deadly water!
These same water quality issues are present in the Southwestern United States where groundwater is an important source of household water.
Directed by Isabel Alcántara Atalaya and Alfredo Alcántara and will premiere on PBS 8September2025 at 22:00 hours and will stream on the PBS app through 7December2025.
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