Sheinbaum compared the Mining Law to oil expropriation: “Lithium was rescued for the benefit of the nation”

The head of government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, compared the 84-year-old oil expropriation of Lazaro Cardenas to the recent reform of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's (AMLO) mining law.

With the recent approval of this reform in the Chamber of Deputies, the Mexican State is reserved for the exploration and exploitation of lithium for the benefit of citizens, in addition to creating a decentralized body to carry out these operations, so no concessions, permits or contracts will be granted in this area.

During her visit to Pilares Ahualapa in Xochimilco, the capital's president recalled that before AMLO sent an initiative to the Congress of the Union, lithium could be privatized and concessioned. In this regard, Sheinbaum Pardo questioned the involvement of transnational corporations in the mining sector. “They take it (lithium) and leave very little to the country,” he said.

As on previous occasions, Claudia Sheinbaum called opposition deputies who voted against the initiative promoted by the government of the so-called Fourth Transformation as “traitors to the country”, while those who supported it called them “nationalists” committed to the country.

He also highlighted the creation of a company such as Petroleos Mexicanos or the National Electricity Commission for the exploitation of this mineral. Given this, at the morning conference on April 21, President López Obrador announced the possible names of this company: Mexican Lithium Agency (Amlitio) and Lithium Mexican (Litiomex).

It should be recalled that this initiative was proposed after the Electricity Reform was not approved in the Chamber of Deputies last Sunday, April 17, so the federal president warned that it had a “plan b” to reform and add new precepts to the Mining Law.

Following its approval, the leader of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), Mario Delgado Carillo, as well as 17 other governors of Q4 (including Sheinbaum Pardo), welcomed the amendments to the Mining Law to lay the foundations for the country's energy transition. And they warned of the risk of lithium being left in the hands of transnationals.

However, the Mexican Chamber of Mining indicated that the reform of the Mining Law would affect the development of more than 690 communities that cannot engage in another activity economic, while at the same time it would drive away investments of more than $24 billion (mdd).

For her part, the head of the Mexican Geological Survey, Flor de María Harp, said that more time is needed to locate lithium deposits, without a guarantee that they are economically viable.

As of February 2022, 66 geographical areas have been evaluated out of the 82 that were included in the lithium exploration program and were identified 73 others for future evaluation, explained Maria Harp.

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