The “first recommendations” from the committee of scientists tasked by President Sheinbaum with studying the possibility of “sustainable fracking” are about to be released. Should the results align with the vision of the Presidential Palace, the next step would involve establishing a trust fund open to private investment, both domestic and foreign, particularly from the United States.
On April 15, during her morning press conference, the President announced her intention to explore the possibilities of a significant technological improvement that would allow for the approval of gas extraction projects using the widely condemned hydraulic fracturing method known as fracking. She stated that the initial findings from the committee of scientists would be released “in two months,” which did not happen, although it is claimed that this first phase will be completed in a few days.
Should the argument for “sustainable” or “green” fracking gain traction, Sheinbaum would be making another shift away from the policies of the “first floor” of the Fourth Transformation, headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who openly opposed fracking. The president herself acknowledged on April 15 that she had previously opposed this method, but now “we are looking at unconventional gas with a view to sovereignty and minimizing environmental impacts.”
She assured that “nothing will ever be done against the population.” She explained that, “if the decision is made to extract gas in Coahuila, for example,” discussions would then begin with other communities where the project could be implemented. The residents of those areas would be asked: “Do you agree?”, “Do you disagree?”, “These are the impacts that will occur,” “How will the communities be involved?”, “What benefits would there be for the communities?” Of course, she added, “if that were the case.”
I myself, she explained, “for many years said, ‘no to fracking.’ But when I see the new technologies, the country’s situation in terms of dependence, the worst thing we can say is just ‘no,’ but rather: let’s see, let’s find out if, in fact, there are new technologies, with less environmental impact” (https://goo.su/hHxToJ).
It remains to be seen whether this rather proactive, or at least hopeful, phrasing regarding finding ways to reinstate fracking will resonate with the specialists appointed at the discretion of government or university authorities. Present at the morning press conference where the aforementioned committee was announced were the Secretary of Science and Technology Affairs, Rosaura Ruiz, the rectors of UNAM and UAM, and the director of the National Polytechnic Institute.
On another note, yesterday reporter Elia Castillo Jiménez published an article in the Mexican edition of El País with the headline: “The Mexican Government is outlining a trust fund to finance the return of fracking with private investment.” Such a trust “opens the door to a profound change in the relationship between the State and private capital. The document anticipates the participation of investors in accordance with the current legal framework, including foreign actors, always under the State’s guidance and without altering national ownership of hydrocarbons (…) If the project ultimately receives the green light, major US energy companies are emerging as the best positioned to contribute capital, experience, and technology to the development of unconventional deposits.”
And, while today President Sheinbaum addresses the delicate issue of the kidnapping of Ismael Zambada, “El Mayo,” almost two years ago (July 25, 2014), after images of the aircraft used by the FBI to transport the Culiacán crime boss to the neighboring country were released in the United States, without any explanation from the White House to date, nor has the Mexican government provided specific information about what happened on Mexican soil during a virtual US invasion, until tomorrow!
Source: tabascohoy
