Environmental impacts caused by open-pit mining megaprojects in Zacatecas, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the environmental impacts produced by mining megaprojects in Zacatecas, Mexico, under the neoliberal development model in the light of the commodification of water and minerals, and the competition for land and water use for agricultural production. The subject is relevant because it is part of the analysis of the territorial dispute between transnational corporations and communities over the right and usufruct of natural resources, affecting underdeveloped economies like those of Mexico and other Latin American countries. The question is how and in what way are the vital signs of environmental impact generated by mining megaprojects expressed? The hypothesis is that open-pit mining megaprojects under the domination of transnational capital have caused an environmental impact that has resulted in the destruction of mining communities in Zacatecas. Preliminary results indicate that Zacatecas has become an enclave economy where transnational capital, backed by State policies of dispossession, appropriates and extracts the mineral wealth of the affected communities, destroying the surface and agricultural production, over-exploiting aquifers and contaminating the soil and water.