Mining Concessions / Mexico’s Air Safety Status

Mining Law. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied that his government is canceling previously granted mining concessions. "The concessions granted are not being affected; we are respecting them, even knowing that they are not being exploited."

In May, President López Obrador’s initiative to modify the Mining Law, the National Water Law, the General Law for Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection and the General Law for the Prevention and Management of Mine Waste was approved. Art. 15 of the aforementioned law orders that mining concessions are subject to the public domain regime of the Federation and confer the right to carry out the exploitation, benefit and use of minerals or substances subject to the application of the law. The new legislation reduced the duration of mining concessions from a maximum of 100 to 80 years. 

Mexico’s Air Safety Status. López Obrador will meet with the Head of US Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, to discuss Mexico's return to Category 1. "Today, I am going to receive the US Secretary of Transportation at the Felipe Ángeles Airport. We are going to talk about Category 1, because we have already complied with everything.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined that Mexican aviation is still in Category 2, after conducting an International Aviation Safety Assessment Audit. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government had estimated that the Category 1 denomination would be recovered in April 2023. However, the FAA ruled that Mexico continues to be non-compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. This delay limits Mexican airlines from opening more routes to the US.

Lake Texcoco. The Director of the Ecologic Park of the Lake of Texcoco, Iñaki Echeverría, announced that the project is 65% complete. Echevarría said that the investment in the park is MX$4.5 billion (US$259.7 million) and has generated 6,000 jobs. "The ecological park comprises 14,000ha protected on March 22, 2022 through a decree that turned it into a Natural Protected Area. This decision provides legal protection and guarantees a better future."

The project is developed at what once was meant to become the New Mexico City International Airport (NAICM), focusing on lake, wetlands and lagoon restoration projects which will be developed along a recreational space for the public. The project is expected to be ready by the end of 2023.

In 2018, López Obrador canceled the NAIM project started during the government of President Peña Nieto, arguing that it was destroying ecosystems and that its construction was very expensive. Nevertheless, the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) has been criticized because, according to experts, it does not solve Mexico City's international airport saturation problem.