Article by  PBI-Canada

PBI-Mexico with OFPC director Cristina Auerbach.

The Associated Press reports Mexico’s state-owned electrical power company intends to buy 2 million metric tons of coal from Mexican producers between July and December of this year to burn in power plants.

The Los Angeles Times further reports: “[President Andrés Manuel] López Obrador’s devotion to fossil fuels at a time when most nations are moving in the opposite direction has dismayed environmentalists, who warn that Mexico will be unable to meet its emission reduction commitments under the Paris climate agreement.”

Earlier this year, The Guardian also reported: “López Obrador has shown a marked enthusiasm for coal, which produces roughly 9.5% of Mexico’s electricity. In October [2020], he travelled to the coal mining regions of Coahuila, to announce the reactivation of CFE [Federal Electricity Commission] coal-fired plants.”

PBI-Mexico accompanies the Organization Familia Pasta de Conchos (OFPC) in Coahuila.

The organization was formed in 2006 to advocate for the recovery of the bodies of 65 miners who died in the Pasta de Conchos Mine in San Juan Sabinas, Coahuila.

PBI-Mexico has explained: “Gradually the organization began to bring attention to the more global phenomenon of the precarious labour conditions that miners in the region face, particularly the safety risks they face in their work.”

This includes inspecting risky labour conditions in mines, documenting labour accidents, and providing legal assistance to miners in the region.

The OFPC has also advocated for families who have seen their health and land affected by coal mining, notably in the village of Cloete.

Auerbach has highlighted: “Our life is worth more than coal.”

The Guardian comments: “In the past, Mexico has been a climate leader. It was the first developing country to deliver its climate action plan ahead of the Paris agreement, but such ambitions are now treated with crushing lack of interest by the government.”