Mexico City. In an emergency session, the Mexican Senate passed a package of legislation including mining reforms. The vote took place in the old seat of the Senate “Xicoténcatl” after protests by the opposition.
The Senate passed reforms to the Mining Law, the National Water Law, the Ecological Balance and Protection of the Environment Law, and the general Waste Prevention and Integral Management Law.
The majority at the meeting was made up of representatives of the Morena party and its allies. The amendments to the law were passed with 66 votes. There were no dissenting votes or abstentions. The opposition had previously tried to delay the vote on mining reforms and other laws by occupying parliament. An alternative meeting location was therefore used.
The reforms bring various changes in the mining sector, which loses its privileged status. Companies that receive concessions cannot invade or demand the expropriation of land used for agriculture or other purposes. The requirements for obtaining mining concessions are being increased by requiring companies to conduct prior consultations with the communities in which they will implement their projects. The period of validity of permits is reduced from 50 to 30 years, with the possibility of an extension of 25 years.
In addition, the mining industry will be confronted with tightened water harvesting regulations. Concessions are no longer granted in regions where there is a water shortage. Upon completion of a mining project, companies are also required to draw up an environmental and water remediation plan for the area in which they have operated.
According to Morena Senator Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, the changes in the mining law are an important step towards stopping the exploitation of mineral resources in Mexico. Civil society associations, such as the CambiémoslaYa collective, welcomed the adoption of the reforms with joy: “Today, the municipalities that resist have made history”.
For mining companies, however, the changes were a blow and also raised concerns among Canadian companies in the sector.
Mining in Mexico had expanded rapidly since the 1990s. In its original version of 1992, the Mining Act brought “enormous simplifications and privileges” for companies. The associated projects, particularly in open pit mining, have been associated with environmental degradation, damage to the local economy, and severe health damage in the affected areas where people live in poverty and extreme poverty.