CFE (Mexico’s federal electric utility) crews began installing power poles and electrical infrastructure in two San Quintín colonias this week, bringing electricity for the first time to neighborhoods that have waited roughly 40 years for the service. The San Quintín electrification work follows a March 20 highway blockade that drew a same-day visit from Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda.
Highway Blockade Prompted Governor’s Visit on March 20
Residents of Monte Carmelo, Tierra y Libertad, and roughly 20 other colonias and ejidos blocked the Transpeninsular Highway (Mexico 1) on March 20, shutting down traffic for 12 hours. The protest was organized by the Alianza de Organizaciones por la Justicia Social de San Quintín, a coalition of farmworkers and community groups demanding potable water and electricity.
Governor Ávila Olmeda traveled to the blockade site the same day. She committed to accelerating electrical service to the colonias where CFE poles had already been partially placed but not yet connected. Crews began active construction in Monte Carmelo and Tierra y Libertad shortly after her visit.
CFE Reports 29 Percent Progress Across San Quintín
CFE reported on March 22 that overall electrification across San Quintín had reached 29 percent. The utility said it completed five separate electrification projects between February and March as part of the Plan de Justicia para Trabajadores Agrícolas de San Quintín, a federal initiative President Claudia Sheinbaum announced during a January visit to Baja California.
San Quintín sits about 190 miles south of Tijuana along the Transpeninsular Highway, in a semi-arid agricultural valley that produces much of Mexico’s tomato and strawberry crop for export. The municipality, which gained formal status as Baja California’s sixth municipio in 2020, has long lacked basic services despite its economic output. Thousands of migrant farmworkers live in colonias without running water or electric connections.
Protesters also rejected the federal Secretaría del Bienestar’s beneficiary rolls, claiming they did not recognize the names listed for a 40,000-peso ($2,200 USD) housing repair program. Demands for potable water remain unresolved.
CFE said it still needs to complete full pole installation before connecting homes to the grid. No completion date has been announced for the Monte Carmelo and Tierra y Libertad projects, according to Punto Norte.