Introduction

1The Necaxa hydroelectric complex, built in 1905, faces several challenges toward a musealization approach.

2The methodology used in this article is supported in a dialogue with the local people of how it’s possible a musealization approach in a specific site where exists a workers identity based in a resistance struggle during the neoliberal governments and based in a strong workers identity interlaced with environmental landscape and indigenous people from nahua villages. This article explores how achieve Necaxa musealization considering the local perspective in the recent years, through the workers union leadership in the community as a part of a combined sight in Necaxa.

3The main statement in this article is that Necaxa musealization must display the social interactions of the different forces and realities in the community, with environmental landscape and indigenous native people, especially because the social discourses reproduced a worker’s identity that express a rooted people who resists to the mexican State during neoliberal times. The integrated dynamics of landscape, workers forces and indigenous people who lived there before the construction of the plant is a previous condition to locate when musealization process arrives.

4During the resistance’s times, after the shutdown in 2009 of Luz y Fuerza del Centro company, La compañía, as called by the workers, a strong feeling of identity allowed a large social resistance. Resistance was also possible because Necaxa people maintain social coherence through local and independent media broadcasting their news contents by Radio Turbina, that started transmission on December 5th, 2009, on 94.1 FM.

History of the hydroelectric complex

5Necaxa complex was the most important engineering work in the electrical sector during the first half of the 20th century in Mexico. Although it is true that at the time of the construction of the complex there were more than one hundred electricity generating companies in the country, in a few years the Mexican Light and Power Company, the company in charge of operating Necaxa, would obtain the monopoly of power generation in Mexico. It was also notable that the Necaxa complex stood out for being the largest, most innovative, and modern project of the time in terms of electricity generation.

6The Necaxa hydroelectric complex consists of the Los Reyes and El Tejocotal dams, both in the state of Hidalgo, the Necaxa, Nexapa and Tenango dams in the Sierra Norte de Puebla between the municipalities of Huauchinango and Juan Galindo, the Necaxa, Patla and Tepexi powerhouses, as well as the El Sifón substation.

7Built by the North American engineer Fred Stark Pearson, construction work began in 1902. Necaxa had several stages of construction, the first culminated in 1905 with the illumination of Mexico City on December 5 of that year; since then, the Necaxa hydroelectric plant has not stopped operating a single day, despite the arrival of hurricanes, an armed civil revolution, strikes and a decree of extinction of the parastatal company Luz y Fuerza del Centro in 2009.

8It has also gone from being a foreign private capital company to being a nationalized and public company to currently having a private concession again, operated by the Portuguese company Mota Engil in association with the Mexican Electricians Union (Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas).

9The beginnings of a strategic project to build a hydroelectric complex that could feed the mining areas of Pachuca and Real del Monte in the state of Hidalgo, as well as those of El Oro and Angangueo in Michoacán (Palma 1928), generated the expectation of its construction since the end of the 19th century, for which the French engineer Arnold Vaquier, obtained the concession to exploit the waters of the Necaxa River and other tributaries in the Sierra Norte de Puebla.

10Due to poor planning and the wrong construction of a tunnel, the project had to be abandoned because of the high economic costs of this mistake. It was not until 1902 that the federal government granted the concessions for the exploitation of the waters of the Necaxa River to the Pearson Engineering holding company.

11Likewise, it was granted land and permits for road and railroad rights of way, railroad tracks and tracks for the laying of overhead electric cable lines, from the town of Necaxa to the mining centers and the capital of the country. Of course, all the subsidies that the government granted to the company, became benefits for the government and for the population since this situation allowed the installation of telegraph and later telephone lines that could benefit the governments and institutions of both the capital of the country and the capital of the state (Pena 2010).

12Roads and railroad lines were also in the public domain, so a passenger train was also operated from Beristain station to Mexico City.

13For the construction of the Necaxa hydroelectric complex, Pearson Engineering founded the Mexican Light and Power Company in the city of Toronto, Canada, with a first office in Halifax in the same country, and also installed its head office in New York City.

14For the construction of the hydroelectric complex, a railroad branch had to be built from the state of Hidalgo to the town of Beristain and a small narrow-gauge branch from this town to Necaxa, as well as rural roads and highways to move the machinery to the construction zone in the middle of the Sierra Madre Oriental. From the beginning of its construction, more than 4,000 workers arrived to work on the engineering works and camps had to be set up for the arrival of the workers in the region.

15For the construction of the four main dams, new techniques had to be used, making it necessary to adapt the engineering plans and programs of the National University of Mexico and other universities and to modify the original project for the built of a dam adapted to the geographical conditions of the area. Likewise, for the foundation of the dam it was necessary to move the old town of Necaxa, which was left under the waters of the main dam.

16The original population of the Nahua ethnic group founded other towns around the dam, such as San Miguel Patoltecoya and on the Necaxaltepetl hill. As well as the re-foundation of Necaxa, Canaditas or Little Canada, in honor of the company's origin. A workers' colony was also founded, which years later became the municipal seat of the municipality of Juan Galindo called Nuevo Necaxa.

17In order to house the workers and engineers it was necessary to build a camp with several stone houses, as well as hotels, lodges, restaurants, bars and years later an elementary school called Obrero Mundial.

“The region's activity developed around the hydroelectric plant and the company town, a model of a village around the company, where housing and facilities in Jacsonville and Salto Chico converged, creating new social interactions. Among the engineers and workers of the company, soccer and bowling were popular, as well as North American jazz and local huapango music” (Pena 2012).

18The modernization and infrastructure created a small modern town with all the services of water, electricity, roads, highways, paving in an area far from the main cities of the country. To make the modernization of Necaxa possible, concessions and facilities were provided by the three levels of federal, state, and municipal government.

“For the consolidation of the project, it was necessary to move 35,000 tons of machinery that had to overcome rough terrain, difficulties in moving along the highway and roads, and wait for the construction of the railroad branch to Beristain. The concession contract included the construction of a railroad branch from Beristain to Necaxa in order to optimize the construction time and cost of transporting the machinery and other tools to put the plant to work. The route included the towns of El Carmen, Totolapa bridge, the center of Huauchinango and a stop in Texcapa, to reach Necaxa, Tenango and Xaltepuxtla. Once the branch lines were ready, the operation of the railroad to the dam construction zone began operations with five steam locomotives that ran between Beristain and Necaxa” (Pena 2010).

19To lay the overhead lines and install the towers, it was necessary to negotiate with landowners and ejidatarios for the pertinent permits, in some cases the expropriation of the land by the federal government was used, and in others it was necessary to purchase the land through which the towers and the power lines would pass from Necaxa to Mexico City and the mining centers.

20The engineering works went hand in hand with the search for economic resources to sustain the viability of the project, so while the building of the Necaxa complex were being executed, the company issued bonds and certificates in the stock market in New York City.

21When the company required more resources to operate the construction of Necaxa, it moved its office from Halifax to the city of Montreal and sought to expand its participation not only in the New York stock exchange, but also set up another office in London with the purpose of issuing five percent of its capital in debt bonds to participate in the stock exchange of the British city (Pena 2012).

22According to the Concession contracts of the Ministry of Development of the federal government, the company was obliged to generate 8 thousand horsepower, however, the construction of the Necaxa complex had the capacity to generate 30 thousand horsepower. Taking advantage of the waters of 40 rivers, some of them reversed their course to reach the Necaxa waterfall, which was the highest waterfall in the region, and which was piped to reach the powerhouse to use it for energy generation.

23Although it is true that 70 percent of the Necaxa complex was built between 1902 and 1915, the hydroelectric plant was completely built in 1954 with a total investment of 52 million 709 thousand pesos.

24Of course there was opposition to the project by the inhabitants who were affected by the expropriations and sales of their land at a lower cost than the real value of the land, some families started litigation, especially the inhabitants of Necaxa, however, thanks to the intervention of the government, the company won all the lawsuits and litigation, buying in ten years the total area required for the construction of the Necaxa complex.

25By 1910 the favorable situation for the Mexican Light and Power Company changed, the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution provoked by social unrest, caused President Porfirio Diaz, who had been in power for 30 years, to go into exile in Paris, France, leaving the company without state protection, the armed social outbreak lasted 10 years, however, all the caudillos and revolutionary leaders who passed through Necaxa always negotiated without hostilities with the company since attacking the Necaxa complex meant turning off the light to Mexico City.

261914 was another year of complications for the company, the pressures of the workers' leagues to obtain better working conditions, and the notable changes in the identity of the workers who were creating ties with the workers' movements, unleashed a series of strikes that the company ended up creating the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas on December 14 of that same year.

27Social pressures ranged from the demand for working hours, to the provision of materials and tools to work, as well as protective equipment such as boots and special shoes, gloves and uniforms suitable for the performance of activities in the electricity industry.

28In this sense, it is worth explaining that the first workers of the Necaxa hydroelectric plant were mostly peasants of indigenous origin who saw in water a way of life and harmony with their cosmovision, it was used to feed themselves and to cultivate, besides putting out fires and fire, while in the electric industry water could burn and electrocute if they were not careful, so their cosmogonic relationship with water changed.

29Quickly and thanks to the fact that many workers came from other parts of the country and other parts of the world, these workers quickly created a local identity and social cohesion that allowed the people of Necaxa and its electrical workers to remain united and in struggle in the face of all the changes that the company underwent over the years. Today, the anarcho-syndicalist Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas continues to be a symbol of the struggle of Mexican trade unionism.

30The generation of electric energy in Necaxa allowed lowering the production costs of some companies such as mining companies and factory consumers in Mexico City (Uribe Salas, 2010), a situation that gave Mexican Light and Power the opportunity to place competitive prices in the market, below those found in the market, putting its competitors in a situation of bankruptcy. The companies, faced with the inability to remain in the market, ended up selling their shares to Mexican Light and Power, creating a monopoly without competitors in Mexico during the first 30 years of the company's operation.

Deteriorated natural heritage

31Since the 19th century, Necaxa has been explored and studied for its natural wealth. The Necaxa River basin is considered national natural heritage and is one of the most important water bodies and forests in central Mexico. It is recognized for its diversity of habitats, predominantly mesophilic forest and oak-pine forest, considered a natural resource protection area by the federal government with an area of 1541.4 hectares (Atonal Sandoval 2015).

32The Necaxa River watershed has been a closed forest protection zone since October 20, 1938, and has an environmental protection and forest management plan registered with the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp 1938).

33The Necaxa River watershed has the management category of natural resource protection area, with a surface area of 42,129.35 hectares. This natural protected area is home to 137,509 people and several endemic plant and animal species.

Photo Celina Peña Guzmán

34Its representative vegetation includes tropical evergreen forest, gallery forest, mesophilic mountain forest, oak-pine forest, pine forest, pine forest and induced pasture. Its habitat is home to the transvolcanic rattlesnake, a microendemic species, as well as the jaguar, the cacomixtle, and the royal nauyaca.

35According to the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, about 23 hectares of forest are lost each year, a situation that has had a direct impact on rainfall and climate change.

36There are six neighboring municipalities in the region that do not have solid waste management plans, which means that approximately 95 tons of garbage are dumped in the open air every day. The area has not been able to control clandestine garbage dumps, causing pests to invade the forest zone.

37In terms of wastewater, no municipality has an integrated municipal wastewater management plan, which means that 337 liters of untreated water per second flow into the open riverbeds and sewers and into the dams, especially the Necaxa dam, which has high levels of pollutants (Barrios 2002).

“In 2000, at the initiative of LYF and with the participation of the National Water Commission and the Government of the State of Puebla, the Engineering Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico developed, based on an environmental diagnosis that included the analysis of the five most evident deterioration processes of the system: municipal wastewater discharges into the environment, inadequate disposal of municipal solid waste, erosion and deforestation, and the presence of risks in geologically unstable areas, a management program whose objective is to preserve the current and future uses of water and contribute to the sustainable development of the region. The description and diagnostic work of the NHS is summarized in a system of indicators under the pressure-state-response model for the two areas of action of the program: protection of the population's health and conservation of resources for the development of the area. The diagnostic results show that 38% of the surface of the study area is susceptible to high and very high levels of erosion; the loss of vegetation evaluated over 20 years represents an average rate of 10%, a value much higher than the national average; the loss of capacity of the reservoirs over 90 years is estimated at 14%, which corresponds to the current capacity of Los Reyes reservoir (Barrios 2002)”.

38Although it is true that inadequate environmental management plans are common in Mexico, in this region the erosion of the forested areas represents a danger to the proper functioning of the Necaxa hydroelectric plant, and real estate speculation has caused houses to be built in deforested areas prone to landslides during the rainy season. Accidents due to soil erosion have caused human losses because of the lack of environmental awareness in the protected area.

39The water catchment capacity of the Necaxa complex dams has lost 14 percent of its capacity compared to 1911, while more than 6,000 hectares of forest have been lost (Barrios 2002). This situation directly affects the operation of the hydroelectric power plant because its generation capacity depends on the catchment capacity of the dams.

40Although environmentalists and specialists in the conservation of protected natural areas have proposed sustainable management plans, no level of government has proposed integrating a solid waste management plan or creating a wastewater sanitation system. It is also important to explain that although the regulations regarding forest logging are in force, there is no real monitoring program that would allow for integrated logging for the reinsertion and reforestation of the watershed's forests.

41Unfortunately, due to the absence of comprehensive environmental management plans, 12 endemic animal species currently require special protection and nine species are threatened, mainly salamanders and snakes that are in a state of significant vulnerability (Atonal Sandoval 2015).

42The conservation status of the Necaxa hydroelectric complex is compromised, so it is important to generate an environmental management plan to prevent the powerhouses from being flooded by hurricanes and floods, as happened with the Patla powerhouse in 2009. Or that they are in water shortage due to lack of rainwater catchment caused by forest fires, deforestation, illegal logging or mismanagement of the forestry industry.

43In order to consider an integrated management plan for the Necaxa River watershed and the hydroelectric complex, it is necessary to work with the federal government, the governments of the states of Puebla and Hidalgo, and the municipalities in the area. The close link that the conservation of the Necaxa complex has with its geographic and natural environment is decisive to maintain the dams, pipelines, canals and powerhouses in good condition. Ensuring that the water catchment is in the best conditions of cleanliness and liters per second must be part of the problems to be solved, since the inhabitants of the vicinity of the dams live from tourism and fishing, so environmental and sustainable management is crucial for the operation of all economic activities linked to the Necaxa complex.

44While it is true that climate change and water stress are consequences of poor natural resource management in the country, having a mitigation and adaptation plan is urgent. The region will have to adapt to the increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall during the year. However, creating a reforestation and forest reinsertion program for endemic plant and tree species is urgent.

Cultural landscape, identity and intangible heritage of Necaxa

45The population of Necaxa is closely linked to the dams; many of the region's economic activities not only depend on the generation of electricity, the local circular economy allows the population to live off of gastronomy, tourism, and flower and ornamental plant greenhouses. National tourists come to the region to visit the dams, the ecotourism centers and to live some experiences such as the visit to Tizoc's house, this small house is located on the shore of the Tenango dam, where the movie Tizoc was filmed in the fifties of the XX^th Century, with the actors María Félix and Pedro Infante, characters considered symbols of the Mexican Golden Age of Cinema, so the visit is representative for the history of national cinema.

46Gastronomy is another national reference of the workers' canteens of the former Mexican Light and Power Co. workers. More than sixty recipes were rescued in the thirties, when the canteens were under the administration of the German-born Theresa Mertz. The workers of the plant integrated recipes with plants and animals from the area to the gastronomy of the dining rooms, due to the impossibility of bringing products from other places, they had to adapt to the integration of a local gastronomy.

“...to collect the exercises of imagination and ingenuity that the workers of Luz y Fuerza del Centro have been capable of, to overcome difficult working conditions in isolated places and, with elements within their reach, to invent a series of recipes that although they were destined for a modest table, are so rich in flavor that they deserve to be rescued and incorporated into Mexican gastronomy” (Donatien 1999).

47Rabbit, axolotes (amphibians endemic to the lakes of central Mexico), endemic tomatoes, chinicuiles (maguey worms), escamoles (güijera ant larvae), barbecue in earth ovens or pit ovens, molotes of nixtamalized corn dough are part of the dishes that were rescued from Necaxa's canteens, from these recipes the tacos paseados (tacos with a walk) carried by the Tlacualeros stand out, they are tacos wrapped in an endemic leaf of the region called papatla. The Tlacualeros were the children who before being apprentices in the old lathe workshops of the Necaxa hydroelectric complex took food to the workers, tlacualero comes from the word tlacuale which means food in the Nahuatl language.

“Through the careful mixture of flavors, smells, colors, textures, sounds and thoughts found in the diverse universes of food, each human group builds strong social and symbolic relationships; in each bite of food we live our double condition of cultural and biological beings on a daily basis. Each society has codified the world of the senses from its own point of view and its own rationality, and in eating are present the particularities of a human group” (Delgado 2001).

48The identity that the people of Necaxa and the workers maintain as an element of social cohesion, has been forged from formal education and from the lathe workshops and apprentice workshops for children and adolescents, family stories are mixed with the history of the hydroelectric plant, small family museums and an independent radio station called Radio Turbina have been important elements for the families to integrate the history of their locality to the electrical worker identity. Necaxa is known as the cradle of the electrical industry in Mexico, although it was not the first hydroelectric plant in the country, it was the largest and most important and was the one that completely changed the natural landscape and agricultural activities for the generation of electricity, integrating a unique cultural landscape that blends the Nahua indigenous identity and worldview with the electrical worker identity.

49The life of the people of Necaxa, even when their activities were not directly linked to the generation of electricity, is linked to the history of the hydroelectric plant and its social and environmental surroundings. In the Obrero Mundial elementary school, children in the past were told that in Necaxa they had a union father and a company mother, referring to the Mexican Electricians Union (Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas) and the Light and Power Company (Compañía de Luz y Fuerza).

50Similarly, among the most important activities during the year is the May 1 Labor Day march, in which workers and the community are integrated in a march that symbolizes that the electrical worker is part of the Mexican union ideological resistance (Colín 2017).

51Necaxa undoubtedly meets the elements of an integrated cultural landscape, despite the fact that the municipalities surrounding the Necaxa complex do not recognize and have an environmental management plan for the Necaxa River Watershed, the residents and former workers have created cooperative networks to conserve fireflies, plants and animals in the area, for example the hydroelectric workers have been responsible for generations for preventing poaching of badgers that are part of the identity of the electrical workers. Likewise, during the crisis of the decree of extinction of the former state-owned company Luz y Fuerza del Centro, work crews were organized to clean the dams and keep the dams of the complex in good condition.

52In the same way that the population has been in charge of maintenance and is concerned about the conservation of the hydroelectric plant, in the homes of the inhabitants of Necaxa and its surroundings there are private collections of private historical archives, old tools, films, documentaries, sound archives of interviews from the 1950s, tools, uniforms, photographs, and old articles corresponding to the history of the hydroelectric plant.

53The cultural identity integrated to the natural and industrial heritage has made of Necaxa a cultural landscape integrated to the history of the town and the hydroelectric plant. Although it is true that the concept of cultural landscape is part of a scheme that allows recognizing these historical territories with natural wealth, the category is not officially recognized by the Mexican authorities in charge of protecting the built, natural and cultural heritage of the country, so the conservation efforts are linked to the settlers and groups of the civil society in order to conserve the natural heritage.

“The term cultural landscape is now officially recognized, there is growing scientific interest and there is talk of the demand for landscape. But even today the category of cultural landscape is still an uncommon term and even a relatively opaque concept for a large part of the population. Many people identify cultural landscape with historical place, in short, a historical landscape is associated with a geographical space, with an event, with a human activity on the territory, but reduced to a fossil remains of great value to be preserved and protected. But cultural landscape is a richer concept...” (Álvarez 2011).

54On October 10, 2009, with the decree of extinction of Luz y Fuerza del Centro by the President of the Republic, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, the authorities programmed a plan for the economic liquidation of the workers and to cede control of the operation of the complex to the dominant parastatal company of electricity service in Mexico, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE); However, the population permanently prevented workers from entering the site and prevented the workers from learning how to use the lathe workshops where the old machinery is manufactured for optimal operation.

55The houses of the municipality were painted red and white, as well as the light meters, to avoid electricity consumption readings, slogans, marches and acts of resistance that were transmitted by Radio Turbina were daily activities during seven years in which the government did not achieve those 16 thousand workers of the 44 thousand, mostly Necaxa workers would collect the liquidation and the actions of the resistance would end.

56One of the main activities that Radio Turbina had between 2009 and 2019 was the transmission of the stories of the construction of the hydroelectric plant, informative capsules about the life of Fred Stark Pearson, transmission of professional and degree exams of all the universities in the country that were linked to engineering, architecture, anthropology, sociology or history of the hydroelectric plant and the workers' movements of Necaxa.

57From Radio Turbina, in coordination with the civil society organized in the resistance in support of the Mexican Electricians Union, journalists, human rights observatories, filmmakers and film students were allowed to enter the town of Necaxa to produce news reports, journalistic chronicles and documentaries on the resistance of the people to prevent them from being deprived of the operation of the hydroelectric plant, as well as on the history of the union and the complex.

58Radio Turbina, informed Necaxa people about the resistance activities and defense agenda, in the times when media obeying the Mexican government dictates minimize the workers struggle.

59Radio Turbina was installed in SME offices in Necaxa town. In 2009, when all the struggle resources and mobilization ideas were necessaries, Radio Turbina started transmission on December 5th, 2009, on 94.1 FM (Mota 2012). In Mexico, the radio electrical spectra are regulated by the Mexican Government. The Government through Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) issues permission to particulars and entrepreneurs broadcasting in the radio electrical space. Its uncommon that unions, workers, peasants, indigenous people, political organizations possess a SCT radio permission to broadcast their own social, cultural, or political contents. Smeita people, the people who supports the union, lives not only in Necaxa also in the Hidalgo and Sierra Norte zone, in the Mexican state and México City. The electricians were also the producers and reporters of Radio Turbina, “Perro de agua” or “Water dog” was the nickname of the general producer who coordinated Radio Turbina. “Perro de agua” studied political science, and he was fired when Felipe Calderón government declared the inexistence of Compañía de Luz y Fuerza del Centro.

60In 2009, people on resistance discovered how internet communication can improve the distribution of messages, update news and broadcast in real time information and video when media closed their doors to electrician workers in resistance. In Mexico, thousands of workers opposed to privatization measures, and they marched against labor reforms that affected. But media was controlled by Mexican government. Only, some communication spaces were available to workers information. So, a reason to broadcast workers information through internet independent media was its ability to elude the government control of information.

61So, it was very relevant that the smeitas cause could broadcast their own programs, agendas, and social calls, because, the Mexican government, developed a media narrative to dark the roots, motives and purposes of workers’ struggle. Neoliberal forces wanted to abolish the workers’ rights, modified regulations and expanded privatization measures to take away national resources and state companies, that were strategically for the country.

Current state of conservation and management plan

62In January 2015, after intense negotiations between the Portuguese company Mota Engil and the Mexican Electricians Union, Fénix is founded, a company that divides 49 percent of its shares in favor of the union workers, all of them former Luz y Fuerza workers, and 51 percent of shares in favor of Mota Engil. With the creation of this new company, the federal government cedes the right to exploit the waters of Necaxa and the operation of the hydroelectric plant to Fénix, initiating a new stage of electricity generation, but leaving the former workers of the hydroelectric plant in charge of the operation of the facilities, although in this new stage they take on the role of shareholders of the company.

63At present, the Necaxa hydroelectric complex maintains the original power houses and turbines in operation, as well as the winches, the raft or elevator for raising and lowering machinery, all in perfect condition, thanks to the management plan that the workers have created for their conservation.

64The management plan for the Necaxa plant consists of the conservation of the old residential houses built between 1902 and 1910, they also have a permanent maintenance system, the old dining room is part of the houses and is currently used for Fénix offices. This complex of houses is located within the Necaxa station and is expected to house a site museum and a small hotel for specialized tourism and to house students who come to study the complex and the protected natural area.

65Today the control panels have been modernized so that only the power houses, tunnels, turbines and shingles rooms form the original machinery that is still in operation and in optimal conditions.

66The lathe shop plays an important role because it is there that spare parts and tools are built that allow the old machinery to continue working. The Patla station was flooded in 1999 and some of the original machinery was replaced, but the powerhouse is still standing and in good condition.

67The Tepexic plant, like Necaxa, has operated with the same turbines since 1905. The management plan in this case consists of preserving the original powerhouses, winches and machinery without altering the way electricity is generated by the water flowing through the turbines to generate electricity. The process starts in Necaxa, once the water passes through the turbines of this powerhouse the water is allowed to flow to the Tenango dam to conduct the water to Tepexic, the process is repeated at the Patla plant and the water is released through the Tecolutla river that flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

68The main problem with the dams is contamination because the municipal water drainage systems of the eight municipalities bordering the dams flow into them. The management plan includes desilting the dams and removing the lirio that prevents the fish species that inhabit them from surviving. A system for monitoring the water levels of all the dams is also being maintained to prevent damage to the dams or exceeding the catchment capacity. Other work includes cleaning up waste and solid waste. In recent years, Fénix's workers have developed a system for monitoring forest resources; however, there is no reforestation plan.

69At present, there is no comprehensive conservation plan for the Necaxa complex. Fénix has developed a management plan to prevent the deterioration of the power plants and houses, but there is no museum, documentation center or comprehensive system for the conservation of the built and tangible industrial heritage.

Management and conservation of the Necaxa hydroelectric complex

70Specialists from different universities in Mexico, the Mexican Electricians Union, the current operator of Necaxa Mota Engil through the company Fénix, maintain a position to create a management and conservation plan for the hydroelectric complex. The municipal government of Juan Galindo on several occasions has created a small museum, however, no real plan of action has ever been created to integrate both the industrial and natural heritage where the hydroelectric complex facilities are located.

71The creation of an ecopark to conserve and promote the environmental management of the Necaxa River watershed is possible by working with the federal environmental ministry to develop a project to clean up the waters and rivers that flow into Necaxa.

72In order to initiate a management plan for Necaxa's industrial heritage and cultural landscape, it is important that the complex be recognized as a historic monument by the General Directorate of Historic Sites and Monuments of Cultural Heritage under the federal Ministry of Culture.

73Another important point is to force the municipal authorities to comply with the norms and laws regarding the protection of protected natural areas in order to avoid environmental deterioration. Once the plans for the recognition and protection of the natural heritage have been integrated, it is important to develop a large interpretation center, a site museum and that the complex becomes a practical school in collaboration with the country's public universities, which have already shown interest in participating.

74The Necaxa complex and its workers can be a reference in the training of human resources in the areas of engineering, architecture, environment, urban environmental development, history, anthropology, tourism, gastronomy and sociology to strengthen the tourist vocation of the region, in addition to continuing to generate electricity while documenting recent history and protecting the tangible and intangible heritage of the site.

Conclusion

75The Necaxa hydroelectric complex is located within the protected natural area of the Necaxa River watershed, where endemic plant and animal species are found. From the beginning of its operations, Necaxa was an example of unprecedented engineering work in Mexico and Latin America.

76Although there is no significant deterioration of the facilities and original machinery, there is no comprehensive management plan for both the natural areas and the industrial heritage. And although some municipal governments have created local museums, there is no project that considers the creation of a large site museum, a documentation and interpretation center, an ecomuseum and a human resources training center to take advantage of the ancient knowledge that Necaxa has inherited.

77Necaxa has a tourist vocation that can be used to economically reactivate the area and has the potential to integrate a human resources training plan in various areas of industrial and cultural heritage conservation.

78It is important to mention that the Necaxa dam and the basin are considered the most important water mirror in the center of the country, and the lungs of the capital of Mexico because it is the area that, despite the permanent loss of its forest areas, still conserves forests in a natural state.

79In order to pass from a preservation stage to a coherence preservation stage, a management and conservation plan must arrange several levels of interlocution and social participation considering workers identity, the environmental landscape, and the traditional roots of nahua inhabitants of the region. Due to the complexity of this intercultural and interdisciplinary dialogue, preservation efforts should transcend inflexible schemes, monolithic perspectives, and isolated preservation approaches. If all these efforts maintain this inertial and narrow sights of preservation depending on fallible premises and exclusivist positions, the preservation plans could be abandoned because preservation is essentially a task rooted on people interest and local people participation.

80A preservation premise must be the dialogue and social interaction, as functions in daily life in Necaxa town, of all the differences forces, identities and local discourses that have been allowed during more than a century the existence of Necaxa dam. An approach centered only in Necaxa as a technical object obliterates the richness of history, memory, identity and environmental landscape that is a convergence point of human action, working activity and hydric and forest resources.

81Unfortunately, the federal government's lack of interest in preserving the Necaxa hydroelectric complex has been a constant over the last 20 years, especially due to political tensions between the federal government and the people of Necaxa, who are members of the Mexican Electricians Union (Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas).