Indigenous Activists Blockade Ammonia Plant in Topolobampo, Mexico

Indigenous activists in the northwestern Port of Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico, moved an encampment before dawn on Monday to block the access road to a controversial ammonia plant. This action has escalated a 12-year conflict surrounding the facility, which has grown from a local land-defense struggle into a national campaign.

Movement leaders have stated they will not participate in further talks with the Mexican government unless construction on the plant is suspended. The project, developed by Switzerland-based Proman Gas y Petroquímica de Occidente (GPO), is reportedly weeks away from completion, with approximately 80% of the work finished.

Opponents, particularly from Yoreme-Mayo communities, argue that the plant poses a threat to the ecosystem of Ohuira Bay, which is a Ramsar-listed wetland of international importance. They also contend that it endangers their traditional way of life and the fishing economy on which many local communities depend. The project is located within territory claimed by these communities as ancestral lands.

On June 12, Mexico's Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena met with community representatives in Los Mochis. During the meeting, she announced a new environmental inspection of the project, guarantees for the right to protest, and a commitment to continued dialogue with affected communities. Bárcena acknowledged "legitimate concerns about the possible environmental and social impacts of these projects."

Yoreme traditional governor Felipe Montaño stated that years of dialogue have already occurred, and he believes officials are aware of the project's "major irregularities." Montaño also appealed to German development bank KfW to reconsider its support, arguing that the bank should not finance a project that could cause "an ethnocide and an ecocide."

By late Monday afternoon, the encampment had grown to approximately 200 people. Montaño noted that some workers arrived at the site but did not attempt to enter the facility. Prior to this blockade, activists had been encamped in a different part of the port for 17 days, attempting to block the delivery of company equipment.

A week earlier, thousands participated in a march from Los Mochis toward Topolobampo, culminating in a symbolic "closure" of the plant. Solidarity demonstrations have also taken place in various Mexican cities, including Culiacán, Mazatlán, Monterrey, and Mexico City, where activists gathered in front of the German Embassy.

The plant originally broke ground in 2015 but was halted in 2022 after Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that it had proceeded without proper Indigenous consultation. Construction resumed following a federal court's upholding of a subsequent consultation process. In this process, four communities closest to Ohuira Bay voted against the project, but their votes were outnumbered by those of seven additional communities.

According to Mexico News Daily, KfW IPEX-Bank, a financier of the project, did not directly address questions about the recent protests or the Environment Ministry's intervention. Instead, it referred the publication to a November 2025 response to the UN human rights office, which defended the project's environmental review and consultation process. Semarnat and GPO did not respond to requests for comment before publication. (Source: Mexico News Daily)