“Mexico and the Sustainable Development Goals”, 22 de marzo de 2019

…Agreed upon by UN member States and designed “to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity”, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)…are commendable objectives…But…progress has been sluggish, particularly in Mexico…Albeit not the only cause, the capture of the State by corporate elites goes a long way towards explaining the problem…Since economic power translates into social and political power…we end up with…a system in which the economic elite are able to ensure that the country is governed in line with their interests…The current human rights crisis in Mexico is symptomatic of a system that allows economic interests to shape State laws, regulations and public policies…Considering the high degree of convergence between human rights and the SDGs, Mexico must find a way to properly implement international human rights standards…The majority of the attacks against human rights activists happen in the context of business activities…Mining, infrastructure construction, energy and logging are all industrial activities frequently related with targeted attacks against those who oppose them…The mining lobby…has managed to ensure regulations which favour its interests over those of the affected communities. Under the guise of encouraging development, the Mining Act considers mining to be in the public interest and preferential to any other use of the land…