Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez announced the end of the Cananea strike, which lasted 18 years since 2007, and progress on an integral plan for social and environmental justice led by the federal government.
The Cananea strike, started in 2007, has recently ended after a historic 18-year struggle. Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez emphasized that the transformation government listened to the miners' voices to resolve one of Mexico's longest labor disputes. "As a government of transformation, we listened and addressed the voices to achieve the resolution of one of the longest strikes on record in Mexico's history," Rodríguez stated.
The dispute involves Grupo México and section 65 workers of the miners' union. In July 2021, the Justice Plan for Cananea was launched with five axes: decent work, free medical care and medications, urban improvement, welfare, and environmental health with water rights. In November 2023, Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo met with union leaders at the Interior Secretariat to seek solutions, at President Claudia Sheinbaum's instruction.
It also addresses damages from the 2014 Río Sonora spill. Since February 2024, a diagnosis for restoration and sanitation began, involving the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Water Commission, and IMSS Bienestar. A fund of 2,222.6 million pesos was established: 70% from Grupo México (1,500 mdp plus 59 mdp prior), 22% federal (483.6 mdp), and 8% state (180 mdp).
The plan includes river restoration mechanisms, contaminated soil sanitation, a real-time water quality monitoring center, 16 new potable water plants, and health improvements. The community hospital in Ures will become a regional hospital with 60 beds, 21 specialty clinics, an intensive care area, and a renal health center with six hemodialysis chairs. Rodríguez stressed the miners' dignity and the government's commitment to social and environmental justice under Mexican humanism.
