[1] The barrio is notable for its high concentration of industrial sites, including the La Teja Refinery, that have spawned a local environmental justice activism community.

Before being recognized as a town, Jesuits and Spanish, Italian and Basque immigrants had created communities in the area that would become La Teja.

[6] These communities created an industrial working-class neighborhood strongly identified with militancy and solidarity found in urban politics in the region.

[6] In response, the community formed what anthropologist Daniel Renfrew called "the first environmental justice movement in Uruguay", embodied in the organization Comisión Vivir sin Plomo (Commission for a Life Without Lead).

[6] The campaign led by the community resulted in a widespread public health awareness of lead contamination and eventual regulation in the country.