Claudia Sheinbaum’s Bold Move Against Mining Giant – Protecting Environment or Expropriation?

President Claudia Sheinbaum has refuted claims that the designation of the Calica mine in Playa del Carmen as a Protected Natural Area is an act of expropriation. This comes in response to allegations by Vulcan Materials Company, the owners of the mine.

Sheinbaum also announced that a management plan for the newly designated reserve is already in progress. The reserve covers a substantial portion of the Solidaridad municipality.

Sheinbaum clarified, "Contrary to the claims of expropriation, we are simply protecting the environment. Mining activities, particularly in this area, have severe repercussions. Therefore, we decided to declare it a protected natural area." She made these remarks during her morning press conference at the National Palace.

Sheinbaum intends to invite Alicia Bárcena, the head of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), to a morning conference. The meeting will focus on discussing the environmental impacts of Calica and the progress of the management plan.

Background

Earlier this year, on September 24, then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador issued a decree. It established a new Protected Natural Area (PNA) named Felipe Carrillo Puerto in Quintana Roo. This PNA, spanning over 53,000 hectares, includes the Calica mine owned by Vulcan Materials Company.

Out of the total area of the new PNA, a small percentage (4.4%) overlaps with the 2,387 hectares owned by Vulcan Materials. These lands are divided into four properties, including Calizas Industriales del Carmen (Calica) and the Punta Venado dock. Until last year, the company exported the stone material extracted from these lands to the United States.

A study cited by El Economista highlighted the extensive environmental impact of the mining activities at the Calica mine. It noted that "nine bodies of water have been exposed due to the removal of vegetation and limestone."

In the United States, both Republican and Democratic senators proposed a bill to impose sanctions if the president proceeded with the designation of Vulcan's lands as a natural reserve. They claimed this act was an expropriation. The senators also called for sanctions against companies using the Puerto Venado Maritime Terminal to ship stone material to the United States.

Since the official declaration of the PNA on its lands, Vulcan Materials Company has not issued any further responses.