He United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenwarned that, if the Mexican government advances in the expropriation of the land owned by Calica, a subsidiary of the American company Vulcan Materials, would be sending a negative message to investors.
“We have raised the point in a generic way to the Government of Mexico, including the president, that confiscation of private companies is not a good way to attract investment“Blinken responded after being questioned by US senators.
Given the possibility that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador order to declare Protected Natural Area the quarry of the Sac-Tun company (formerly Calica)US senators asked Blinken to take a stronger stance to prevent the company from being affected.
“We have a company, Vulcan Materials, based in the US, which has a presence in Virginia, Tennessee and other states in the country. They have a port and land in Mexico. President López Obrador has tried to appropriate that land on two occasions, including with police and military invasions,” said Democratic Senator Tim Kaine.
The claim of Blinken and Senator Kaine joins the demands of Republican Senators Tommy Tuberville, Katie Boyd Britt and Bill Hagerty, who on May 9 sent a letter to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcenas, to solve the conflict that has kept Vulcan Materials without operations in Mexico for three years.
“If the Vulcan land and port are confiscated, we will be forced to consider all available resources at our disposal to ensure that no entity or individual benefits from the theft of this property,” the senators noted at the time.
What is the AMLO vs. conflict about? Calica?
From 2022, the president López Obrador has indicated that the Sac-Tun lands could be expropriated in order to use them for the construction of a recreational parkwhile The Puerto Venado maritime terminal could be used as a terminal for private cruise ships and ferries.
With this, since last November 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) indicated that the 2,400 hectares belonging to Vulcan Materials They are in the process of being declared a Protected Natural Areathus taking the land from the company led by Thomas Hill.
