With simply days of his time period in workplace remaining, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador added one other complication into the continued dispute over Vulcan Supplies Co.’s limestone quarry and port close to Playa del Carmen when he declared an space together with the location to be a protected pure space.

The Sept. 23 declaration covers greater than 200 sq miles in Quintana Roo and particularly prohibits exercise together with extraction of building supplies. Whereas talking to reporters, Lopez Obrador referred to as the extraction of gravel from the realm an ecological catastrophe. 

“There is no such thing as a means we’re going to enable them to destroy our territory,” he stated in Spanish. 

A Vulcan Supplies consultant stated through e-mail that the transfer violates Mexico’s commitments underneath North American commerce agreements together with the United States-Mexico-Canada Settlement (USMCA) that took impact in 2020. 

“This illegal measure may have a chilling and long-term impact on U.S.-Mexico commerce and funding relations,” the Birmingham, Ala.-based firm stated in an announcement. “This motion robs us of our land use and we intend to defend ourselves utilizing all obtainable authorized avenues.”

Map courtesy Official Journal of the Federation of Mexico

Vulcan subsidiary SAC TUN, which operated the 6,000-acre facility, stated in an announcement earlier this yr that it at all times acted in accordance with Mexican legislation and that it went past authorized necessities to attenuate its environmental influence. It alleged Lopez Obrador’s authorities needs the location for tourism functions.

Mexican police and troopers seized the ability in March 2023 amid a dispute between Vulcan and Mexican cement provider CEMEX over use of the port. Vulcan stated on the time {that a} lease allowing CEMEX to make use of the port had expired, and never been renewed. 

Vulcan filed an arbitration case with the World Financial institution Worldwide Heart for Settlement of Funding Disputes over the seizure, and the case has been slowly taking part in out. Earlier this month, the tribunal weighing the case selected the admissibility of latest proof. Whereas Vulcan CEO J. Thomas Hill stated final yr that he anticipated a decision in 2024, it isn’t clear how quickly the arbitration can be determined. The corporate didn’t share an up to date expectation when requested by a reporter. 

Following the seizure, Lopez Obrador stated Mexico supplied Vulcan about $383 million for the property, although the corporate valued the property at $1.9 billion and didn’t settle for the provide. 

James Leggate is a web based information editor at ENR. He has reported on a wide range of points for greater than 10 years and his work has contributed to a number of regional Related Press Media Editors and Murrow award wins.