What drew you to become an expert on mining in Mexico?

I grew up in the city of Guanajuato which has been a mining center for centuries; that history always surrounded me. As an economist, I wanted to learn how  mining evolved from the 16th century to the present, and how the exploitation of México’s mineral resources affected the world economy.

In the early 1500’s, Moctezuma II gifted the first Spanish conquistador, Hernándo Cortéz, with gold and silver, thinking he could buy Cortéz off. Opposite effect! The Spanish found plentiful veins of gold and silver in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and built massive mining operations. Local workers were forced into the mines — their lives having no value except as expendable tools to use and discard.

The violent theft of natural resources by private individuals Is what Marxists call primitive accumulation. Precious metals taken by force made European colonialists rich, and laid the basis for the developing capitalist system.

In the last three decades of neoliberalism, that process has intensified. The amount of gold taken out of the ground in that time was greater than all the gold extracted in the previous three centuries; it increased seven fold.  The amount of silver doubled.

What did Mexican governments do to protect its mineral resources?

According to the 1927 amendments to the Constitution, minerals, as well as water and agricultural resources, belong to the Mexican nation. Therefore, between 1927 and 1992, the principal actor in the mining sector was the state, though many private actors existed as well.

But in 1992, the balance shifted to the private sector when neoliberal president Salinas de Gortari passed the Mineral Law, which allowed both Mexican and foreign private entities to immensely expand the extraction of Mexico’s minerals. The Mexican government granted 106,000,000 hectares — over 50% of Mexican land! — as concessions. Concessions are contracts permitting a private company to explore, locate and extract minerals from public land. The concessions were granted for a 50-year period. 

Where do the metals go? About 80% of the gold and silver are exported to the US, and about 70% of the copper goes to China. What remains in México? Impoverished, injured and diseased workers. Environmental devastation.

In May, 2023, the Mineral Law of 1992 was reformed. Are they minor changes or game changers?

Just to clarify — the law applies to hard minerals such as gold, silver, copper, graphite, lithium, phosphate, magnetite. It doesn’t apply to oil and gas; those are handled separately. 

The Mining Reform, consisting of 46 amendments to the 1992 law, made major changes.  Here are some that stand out. 

The amendments provide new protections for the environment. 

• Under neo-liberal presidents Calderón and Peña Nieto who preceded AMLO, México had the sorry distinction of becoming the first nation to grant concessions permitting mining under the ocean. Now marine exploration is prohibited.

• Importantly, in order to be granted a concession, companies must perform environmental impact studies and prove that they won’t damage ecosystems.

The amendments also provide new protections for the people who live in areas with mining operations.

• Companies bidding on a mining concession are required to conduct social impact studies, including consultations with the people living in the concession areas, which are predominantly rural and coastal. Indigenous people, collective farmers, agricultural and fisher communities are the ones most harmed by the toxic effects of mining. Before, local people were never consulted and the social costs were never considered. 
• Mining companies are no longer given priority for water rights over those of residents.

The state will increase its control over the mining companies.

• Existing concessions will not be canceled — but their taxes will be brought in line with other sectors. Before, while the corporate tax rate was 30%, the mining tax was only .002% of income, owing to corrupt collusion with the PRI government. 
• The term of a concession is reduced from 50 years to 30 years.
• Financial speculation that pushes up the price of the minerals is also prohibited.

Mexico is rich in lithium, which has been called the "new gold". AMLO wants to nationalize the lithium industry — was that in this reform?

What further reforms do you think are needed? 

I’m very worried especially about the coastal areas, which, because of climate change, are at risk of disaster. Look what just happened with Hurricane Otis — Acapulco was demolished by the exceptionally fierce winds. Otis’ strength wasn’t predicted, because the water has never been this warm in the past. 

The ocean is fragile. In the coming years, we need to ensure that our marine ecosystems are not sacrificed to capitalist greed and private profit. Mining on the land did just that for the last 500 years.  It must stop.