What special privilege do mining corporations (both national and foreign) enjoy in Mexico, where they get away with everything, even in these times when the law is supposed to be applied equally without exception?
If it is confirmed that the Canadian mining company hired criminals to persecute its workers, the sanction cannot be limited to an administrative procedure, as this would allow companies to normalize fines as just another operating cost.
Workers at the Camino Rojo mine, owned by Canada’s Orla Mining, faced violence & threats from drug traffickers.
A USMCA Rapid Response panel pointed out that Canadian company Orla Mining “remained silent and showed tolerance”; & also did not act on the complaints of violations of freedom of association nor investigate them.
Carrizalillo community members don’t understand why the Mexican government allows the Canadian corporation to continue committing environmental offenses for which Los Filos mine was previously shut down.
Secretary of Economy Ebrard’s announcement at an Acapulco mining convention was welcome news for Canadian mining companies, who see in the Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation a possibility to return to the rapacious plunder of Mexican minerals of the neoliberal period.
The organization stated the new standard promoted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico is a self-assessment mechanism covering up socio-environmental violations & favouring impunity for Canadian corporations.
Primero Empresa Minera, a subsidiary of the Canadian company First Majestic Silver Corp, have previously been fined by the Court for using a procedural trick to prolong the case.
The Mexican government must navigate between the demands of large transnational corporations who look out only for their own interests, and those who have experienced the ravages of free trade and fight for alternatives to the neoliberal model.