The Mexican State claims its territory
Marcelo Ebrard, from the Ministry of Economy, has just released a piece of information that makes noise: the government has recovered 1,126 mining concessions. We are talking about almost 889 thousand hectares that return to the hands of the nation. It’s no small thing.
The reason? A direct instruction from the National Palace. This Thursday morning, Ebrard explained that President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered a thorough review of all these concessions. The objective was clear: recover those that were dead, those that did not explore, those that did not pay or those that only served to speculate with the territory.
“There has been a dialogue with the industry so that concessions can be returned voluntarily, in an agreement between the parties; there has also been a willingness on the part of the industry,” said José Fernando Aboitiz Saro, head of the Extractive Activities Coordination Unit.
His explanation is to the point. The work has been constant to avoid the misuse of national assets. It’s not just about removing, but about organizing.
And here comes the crucial detail. Of that recovered loot, about 250 thousand hectares were within protected natural areas. Lands that by law should be safe and that ended up in the hands of concessionaires with no real activity.
It is a political move with several levels. On the one hand, it is a strong message about sovereignty and control of territory. On the other hand, it responds to a historical criticism: looting and speculation with the country’s resources. Sheinbaum and Ebrard are rewriting the rules of the mining game from day one.
The question that remains is: what’s next? Recovering is the first act. The second will be to decide what to do with almost a million hectares that now return to the national heritage. Political theater has its new stage.
