The brand new mining legislation reduces the utmost size of concessions from 50 to 30 years, and punishes hypothesis by permitting authorities to cancel concessions if no work is finished on them inside two years.
The mining business, a lot of it international and in a substantial quantity Canadian, has drawn complaints due to ecological injury, hypothesis and the truth that communities across the mines stay among the many poorest in Mexico.
Many firms, particularly smaller “minor” firms listed on Canadian exchanges, do exploratory work, estimate the presence of minerals after which do nothing, ready to promote the concession to a bigger participant. Lots of the properties contain gold or silver deposits.
Giant Mexican firms dominate mining for copper and another metals.
The Senate additionally accepted a invoice mandating 10 to fifteen yr jail sentences for individuals who produce the artificial opioid fentanyl in Mexico or who present precursor chemical compounds largely imported from China. It makes drug manufacturing a separate crime, along with possession.
Maybe extra controversially, the senators accepted a invoice to exchange the nation’s science and expertise fee — which fingers out analysis grants and different funding — to incorporate representatives from the Military and Navy on its board.
The brand new framework would additionally explicitly give precedence to researchers at state-run universities over personal ones.
Underneath one other invoice, the navy would acquire a dominant position in offering safety within the nation’s airspace, and would even be allowed to function a industrial airline. That represents a possible battle, for the reason that military may also be allowed to function civilian airports, and Mexican legislation prohibits and airport operator from additionally working an airline.
López Obrador has significantly expanded the navy’s position to every part from constructing initiatives to working firms.