The fire that no one wanted to see (until it went viral)
Ah, Atltzayanca. A place so picturesque that even its fires are extra large. Last April 15 (or maybe the 11th, or the 12th, or whenever they felt like admitting it), a forest fire decided to make an all-you-can-eat of 1,087 hectares of forest. Or 700. Or 2,000. Or 4,000. Who keeps score? According to Conafor, everything is under control (if you ignore that the control arrived four days late).
While the residents and ejidatarios were playing Minecraft in survival mode—shovels in hand, without equipment—, the state government was dedicated to its own thing: organizing helicopter tours for the press. Because, of course, what better time for a photo session than when the hill looks like a giant blowtorch? The Conagua helicopter did drop water, but the other… well, at least the cameras captured very photogenic official smiles.
The magical mathematics of burned hectares
Here the numbers are like the horoscope: everyone has their version. Governor Lorena Cuéllar said “700 hectares” (blessed discretion). The Conafor, “1,087” (with decimals, to sound serious). The locals: “4,000 and counting!”. And the representative Anel Martínez threw a “hold my beer” with a “more than 2,000”. Conclusion? Nobody knows, but everyone has a press release ready.
The only thing that is clear is that the local fauna now has two options: ashes or express migration. And not to mention the volunteer brigade members, who after five days of playing Firefighter Simulator in hardcore mode, received as a reward… burns and exhaustion. Thank you, institutions!
Organized Women of Tlaxcala summed it up elegantly: “It was an ecocide and a sign of abandonment”. In other words, the government arrived late, badly and wanting to get on the reel. Meanwhile, the neighbors put out embers with branches and solidarity (ingredients that, apparently, are not in the official budget).
Moral? If your forest catches fire, don’t wait for the government. Better get a shovel, a WhatsApp group and a lot, a lot of irony to endure the official speeches.
Did it outrage you as much as it did us? Share this gem of public management and continue exploring how dark humor is the only one that survives the flames of ineptitude. 🔥
