Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed his hope on Tuesday that before his administration ends on October 1, there will be a “definitive closure” of the lands of Calica, a subsidiary of the American Vulcan Materials in the Mexican Caribbean.
“Before I leave, I have to resolve that and we are going to resolve it legally; there is already a closure, but I want it to be a definitive closure because they have caused a lot of damage,” said the president during his morning press conference.
The president affirmed that his government did “everything” to reach an agreement with the owners of Vulcan Materials, but they did not succeed, since they have Mexican lawyers who are very accustomed to the “deal.”
However, he acknowledged that “it is no longer possible” for the company to continue using that part of the territory as a materials bank, but said that there will be a trial, which, he anticipated, the government will win.
“There is no way they are going to support the ecocide that has been committed in that area, after they talk about facing climate change,” he concluded.
He said that a project could be done on those lands: “There are many options, but they are determined to remove the stone, to continue removing the gravel, to take it to the United States.”
And he reiterated that they do not plan to expropriate those lands, as the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused last May.
Also read: AMLO denies expropriation of Vulcan Materials lands and responds to Blinken: “If the investments are to destroy the territory, it is better that they do not come”
“We are not going to expropriate, it is just applying the law so that the territory is not further destroyed; it is a closure of a mine that destroys, it is not expropriation, they cannot take material from Calica, that is all,” he insisted.
The conflict with Vulcan Materials, which has a concession until 2037, is causing a commercial friction with the United States, where Blinken has repeatedly warned of the White House’s “concern” over the case, most recently on Tuesday.
Since 2022, López Obrador has hinted at the intention to expropriate those lands, while in November 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) indicated that the 2,400 hectares belonging to Vulcan Materials are in the process of being declared a Protected Natural Area.
Source: latinus.us
