translated from Spanish: Mexico does not need a budget cut, but a public ecological policy: Mateo Castillo

Morelia, Michoacán.- Environmental advocacy organizations, “… we could agree to lower the budget to the institutions of Mexico’s environmental sector, only if there was a smart strategy to develop an adequate environmental management policy, but it is not. The recent decree reducing public resources is due to a make-up decision, which is not objectively substantiating, and which is far from the new draft change in Mexico,” said Mateo Castillo Ceja, representative of the Earth Charter in Mexico.
The renowned Mexican environmental activist clarified that in Mexico, conservation strategies more close to the town, and to the owners of the territories, are urgently needed; we are also lacking adequate environmental education schemes for the conservation and appropriation of natural space that allows it to be enriched and preserved. “It is inaplaceable to empower citizens in environmental protection and conservation actions,” he said.
In other words: “… Mexico needs a viable, useful and cost-effective public ecological policy,” the focus of the Earth Charter in our country said. It therefore called for reversing the decision to limit environmental institutions with a budgetary reduction in the nature and size of the operation.
In this context, he said that unfortunately, the current Mexican environmental administration, “… it has been unconciling,” so he demanded a change in attitude and strategy from those who run government institutions, because “… Mexican society, in its constitutional right of expression, must be heard, and the usefulness of the commentary must be taken into service.”
However, it is not happening. Today, in environmental issues of conservation protection and sustainable use of natural capital, Mexican society “… it is not listened to and far from attending, officials point out, discriminate, do not listen, judge, with an unconciling attitude, and of meager results in environmental management,” said the Michoacan social leader.
Mateo Castillo Ceja stated that Mexico is not only populated by 30 million citizens who voted for the current president. In our country, “… we are 127 million human beings who cohabit the national territory, and for all of us must govern.”
Therefore, the president, the environmental authorities and the top-level rulers, “… should mainly facilitate the rights that affect Mexico’s sustainability, such as: the right to information, participation, access to information, free expression, free association; the right of petition and, above all, the right to the healthy environment, which involve collective rights.”
Castillo Ceja, said that the announcement of the budget cut, launched a movement of former officials of the environmental institutions of Mexico (SEMARNAT, CONABIO, CONANP, PROFEPA, CONAGUA, INE, and CONAFOR among others), who issued and presented on 5 June last, a document called “An urgent call” to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and public opinion, so as not to dismantle the budget reduction, , nor “… to undermine and blur Mexico’s environmental institutions, and to suspend decisions contrary to the legal framework that governs us in environmental matters and to our international obligations and commitments.”
This document was signed, by former environmental officials of great prestige such as Julia Carabias Lillo, Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez, Alejandro del Mazo Maza, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich, Adrián Fernández Bremauntz, Luis Fueyo Mac Donald, Guillermo Haro Belchez, Víctor Lichtinger Waisman, Miguel Limón Rojas, Ignacio Loyola Vera, José Luis Luege Tamargo, Santiago Oñate Laborde, Sergio Reyes , among others, who analyzed the importance and contributions of these institutions, to the conservation of our biodiversity and great natural capital.
However, the response of Victor Manuel Toledo, current holder of the Semarnat, “… was to judge, and to point to these former officials, as those who allowed the current environmental deterioration. This is undoubtedly an unconciling attitude, and it just means letting the opportunity to build this country, with the participation of all,” Castillo Ceja called it.
Victor Manuel Toledo, instead of inviting them to dialogue and the construction of a new perspective from a limited budget and worrying environments derived from the pandemic, called them “right-wing environmentalists”, and accused them of being linked to “green business,” Mateo Castillo explained, “It turns out that, in Mexico, there are left-wing environmentalists, right, top, bottom, nowhere… what things!”
In this vein, the experienced Michoacano environmentalist assured that an environmental policy for sustainability will never be built, nor is there a condition for environmental governance for sustainability – as Mexico demands –… with disqualifications, minimizing experiences, and without truly listening to the main groups involved: those affected, experts, decision makers and those who by their position, can slow or accelerate decision-making.”
The renowned leader of the Earth Charter in Mexico, was conclusive: “… Today, in Mexico, we must think of more innovative ways for the conservation of protected natural areas, which cause citizen empowerment, and with it, a reduction in operating costs, while devoting fresh financing to communities for the reconstruction of the social fabric, based on sustainable productive projects”.

Original source in Spanish