National Advocacy Work in Mexico

Our practical experience in Mexico, where the Foundation is starting its activities, has proven the importance of investing a substantial amount of time and energy in lobby and advocacy work. Mexico, like many other countries, is now defining its renewable energy policy. A number of legal instruments that will define the conditions under which renewable energy projects will be undertaken are about to be passed. The Foundation, together with community organizations and NGOs, is promoting a legal and policy framework supportive of community renewable energy projects. We expect that we will need to do similar advocacy work in other countries in the future.

Together with community organizations, human rights and environmental NGOs, academics and other committed individuals, we have formed a network called National Community Network for Renewable Energy (Red Nacional Comunitaria por la Energía Renovable, RENACER). This network is commenting on the drafts produced by the authorities in charge of producing the legal instruments that will define Mexican renewable energy policy.

We are also undertaking activities aimed at informing the communities in areas rich in renewable energy sources about these legal developments, and working towards making their voices and opinions heard by the authorities. Communities living in land rich in renewable energy sources have not been consulted about this new legal framework, although it will affect them deeply. For instance, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca), the region with the best potential for wind energy production, social tensions and popular resistance is growing due to the allocation of most of this indigenous region to private developers for the construction of very large wind farms. Communities were not consulted about this allocation process, and they have been excluded from the discussion about the new legal framework. To change this situation, a 3-day public forum was organized by RENACER and local community organizations in August 2009 in the capital of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.