Although, at that time, the Government of Mexico assured that the cancellation would not imply any affectation Regarding the attributions, powers and work of the Ministry of Economy in the sector, some opinions do not go along the same lines.
“Need a stronger mining authority, with greater resourcesthat can regulate and apply the law, because mining problems are not a matter of law, they are administration”, he asserts at the request of Expansion the lawyer Karina Rodríguez Matus, an expert in mining, energy and infrastructure issues.
Furthermore, information about the Fund for the Sustainable Regional Development of the State and Mining Municipalities (Mining Fund) it is scarce, since it does not appear in any document of the Economic Package for Fiscal Year 2023.
This Fund was created in 2013 and was made up of the collection of 7.5% tax on the profits of mining companies, with the objective of “raise the quality of life of the inhabitants in the areas of mining extraction”, according to what was shown by a page of the Secretariat of Urban Territorial Agrarian Development, updated for the last time on February 4, 2016.
According to the site, the amount of the Fund, determined each year by the Ministry of Economy, to 2017, was 3,738,951,934 pesos, being This is the last year for which information is shown.
“Finally it was reformed and currently It is administered by the Ministry of Public Education, then it no longer fulfills the primary objective, which was to distribute resources in communities where mining activities are carried out. In a certain way, it changed its raison d’être,” Rodríguez asserts.
The situation does not lie in whether mining pays taxes or not, but in make these resources effective for communities and the environment. According to the Tax Burden Study of the international consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (ECFPwC), the tax burden in Mexico is higher than that of Chile, Peru and even the United States.
In addition, so far in the current administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, no not a new mining concession, which would not happen if there was an independent authority on the matter. At the beginning of his management, 10.64% was granted for this activity, a figure that today dropped to 8.59%according to the Ministry of Economy.
“When I say a strong mining authority, I mean a an authority that has resources to issue concessions, create contracts, review compliance with obligations”, adds the also partner of the firm Rodríguez Matus & Feregrino.
Following the collapse of a coal mine in Coahuila last year, which trapped more than 10 workers, the issue regarding the safety of workers in these complexes also had a place on the table when questioning whether a new Mining Law is necessary or not.
The lawyer stresses that, in these cases, the agency in charge of reviewing the conditions of the workers is the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, therefore, in addition to an exclusive authority for this sector, it also it is necessary that the other actors comply with their activities and obligations.