Oracle, the corporation behind Project Jupiter, and its executives collectively donated $87,200 to Deb Haaland’s campaign

She took the money and now refuses to call for a ban on hyper-scale data centers

Deb Haaland has claimed the lack of ‘transparency” is the primary lesson we should learn from the construction Project Jupiter– but it isn’t. The primary lesson is politicians represent the interests of tech capital. Sure, Project Jupiter entered the scene under a veil of secrecy– but it didn’t last, now we know politicians have signed NDA’s with the corporation, assisted with pushing through the construction of the hyper-scale data center and that Oracle has injected nearly $200,000 into New Mexico political campaigns, including $87,200 to Deb Haaland.

The people responsible for allowing this lack of transparency and expediting important processes for the benefit of Oracle are politicians and officials, Oracle could not accomplish this alone. Do to public outcry, these nefarious dealings have come to light, and Project Jupiter is facing serious pushback from environmental groups and the public at large. But still, stopping Project Jupiter or any hyper-scale data center will be no easy task. It is a snowball, rolling down hill, gaining momentum, density, and volume with every rotation. As its construction continues, the already obscene monetary investment of Oracle grows, and so does their motivation to push this thing through at all costs.

The way we see it, Politicians who are soft on these data centers are picking up right where these tech corporation’s attempts at secrecy left off. Now that these processes are becoming more transparent, and public outrage is building, these corporations can rely on politicians to keep the ball rolling by calling for “guardrails” and “regulations” that these corporations can just sidestep down the road. Even calling for a state-wide moratorium is a strategy to wait for dissent to die down, for outrage against these centers to fade. It is simply not enough. Companies like Oracle have an immense amount of capital to throw at the issue, to influence legislation and bypass so called ‘guardrails’.

We have been pressuring Deb Haaland to call for a state-wide ban of hyperscale data centers. She has repeatedly refused. As the potential next governor, she could get the ball rolling by calling for a ban, instead she is sitting on a fence with our futures, pandering to voter concerns without concrete statements, here is what she has said instead of calling for a ban:

• She is “waiting to see what the legislator comes up with”. As the leader of the democratic party of New Mexico, it could put wind in the sails of the legislature to pass a ban if she called for one, and it could set the tone for midterm elections on a national scale.
• In a deflection to a pointed question about data centers, Deb called for any industry in New Mexico to meet net zero by 2050 goals. 2050 is a long way away and our water crises is only getting worse. net zero by 2050? will we even be able to live in New Mexico at that time?
• She has claimed she doesn’t have the power to stop Project Jupiter. Likely an executive order banning hyperscale data centers would get New Mexico sued, but it would be worth it. The New Mexico Attorney General is standing up to Trump, so why shouldn’t we stand up to tech companies like Oracle? An executive order could encourage other states to do the same, and this could become a crisis for tech companies trying to get rich quick at our expense.

With the revelation of Deb’s campaign being funded in part by Oracle, its no surprise she hasn’t taken a strong stance on data centers. These companies have been throwing around money and sweetening the deal for those in power. We cannot rely on them to stop these centers of their own accord. We must refuse to legitimize a system that is not giving us the option to vote for our own futures, our own lives, and the lives of our children. We know Deb Haaland and Greg Hull have heard our cries for a ban on hyper-scale data centers, and they will continue to. Join us at their debate on October 8th in Albuquerque to show that if they aren’t going to work for us, if they are going to sell out (they already have) then we aren’t going to play their game. The water crisis is now, and we can’t wait for these fake democratic processes to water down our demands and sell us out. If we can’t “vote out” data centers, then we are going to have to take matters into our own hands.