Mexico community action

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Location	Mexico

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Malling.

Public luxury for the everyday citizens of Mexico City—with “100 Utopias” being built by new Mayor Clara Brugada, Daily Alternative (Jul 06, 2024) — "brilliant example of collective amenity and a public infrastructure of care", David Madden
Fewer wildfires, great biodiversity: what is the secret to the success of Mexico’s forests?, theguardian.com (May 01, 2024) — More than half of the country’s forestry is in community and Indigenous hands – and from CO2 absorption to reducing poverty the results are impressive
Now Building On Planet A, Alternative Editorial (Apr 03, 2022)

Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]

Neighbourhood initiatives across Mexico City

Movimiento Sustentable [es]

Ecovillages

Las Cañadas Bosque de Niebla, on ecovillage.org, is a centre for agro-ecology and permaculture, situated in one of the last remaining islands of the Bosque de Niebla- the forest of mist-, in Mexico's central Veracruz region. Here, permaculture is used as a design tool with the aim of learning how to implement and share a sustainable way of living. "We are continuously developing creative solutions to solve both social and environmental problems that persist in this era of accelerated climate change." added 16:34, 2 May 2021 (UTC)

Community involvement[edit | edit source]

Zapatistas: Lessons in community self-organisation in Mexico, Jun 25,2020...opendemocracy.net
Cherán. 5 years of self-government in an indigenous community in Mexico, Dec 2, 2016...opendemocracy.net

The town of Cherán in Mexico saw armed citizens kick out the corrupt police, drug cartels, and mayor in 2011. Since then they have adopted a system of popular assemblies to govern the town, which is somewhat independent of the central government. ^W

Community energy[edit | edit source]

From Wikipedia:Renewable energy in Mexico

Renewable energy in Mexico contributes to 26 percent of electricity generation in Mexico. As of 2009, electricity generation from renewable energy comes from biomass, hydro power, geothermal, solar power and wind. There is a long term effort established to increase the use of renewable energy sources. The amount of geothermal energy used and harvested, places Mexico as number four in the world.

As the importance of clean sustainable energy becomes more prevalent, the country and government officials continue to invest in research and innovations to continue to allow Mexico to be a leading example of renewable energy. Predictions based on current energy standings lead the country to anticipate by 2035, the 26 percent renewable energy in Mexico will rise to 35 percent.

Not only will this prove a more sustainable future it also increases jobs in rural areas. Jobs increased by 14 percent within the last 8 years in the renewable energy sector. With the objection to create more in-home jobs for residents of Mexico, an increase in sustainable energy, results in lower demand for conventional fuels such as fuel oil, petrol gas, coal and natural gas. With lower demand for these fuels, mainly gasoline and diesel and on the rise jet fuel, this will result in a lower need for imports. With relying on fewer imports, national security is higher.

From Wikipedia:Solar power in Mexico

Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m²/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert (0.01% of Mexico) could supply all of Mexico's electricity.

From Wikipedia:Solar power in Mexico § Distributed Generation

Currently, 98% of all distributed generation can be attributed to solar PV panels installed on rooftops or small businesses. This installed capacity has greatly increased from 3 kW in 2007 to 247.6 MW by the end of 2016. According to the Mexican Ministry of Energy (SENER) if this trend continues till 2018 the total installed capacity will surpass 527 MW, this is the goal set by the Mexico's Special Program for Energy Transition or PETE (Programa Especial de la Transición Energética)

From Wikipedia:Wind power in Mexico

Mexico is rapidly growing its production of wind power. In 2016, its installed capacity had reached 3,527 MW, increasing to 8,128 MW in 2020.

In 2008, there were three wind farms in the country. The Eurus Wind Farm was the largest wind farm in Latin America. 18 of 27 wind farms construction projects were based in La Ventosa in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca. According to the Mexican Wind Energy Association, Mexico was predicted to progress to rank twentieth worldwide in wind capacity by the end of 2012, and to produce four percent of the country's total electricity production. It also projected that the nation would have 12 GW (16,000,000 hp) of wind generation capacity by 2020, and would be able to provide fifteen percent of Mexico's production. Brian Gardner, Economist Intelligence Unit's energy analyst, said, "With strong wind through the south, consistent sunlight in the north and a stable market, Mexico is well positioned for continued renewables growth". Wind power is in partial competition with Solar power in Mexico.

Electricity and the environment

Climate action[edit | edit source]

From Wikipedia:Climate change in Mexico

Climate change in Mexico is expected to have widespread impacts: with significant decreases in precipitation and increases in temperatures. This will put pressure on the economy, people and the biodiversity of many parts of the country, which have largely arid or hot climates. Already climate change has impacted agriculture, biodiversity, farmer livelihoods, and migration, as well as water, health, air pollution, traffic disruption from floods, and housing vulnerability to landslides.

Altered precipitation patterns and warming temperatures have led to economic insecurity in Mexico, particularly for smallholder farmers who grow Mexico's economically and culturally important crops: maize and coffee. Climate change impacts are especially severe in Mexico City, due to increases in air pollution. Ecological impacts of climate change within Mexico include reductions in landscape connectivity and shifting migratory patterns of animals. Furthermore, climate change in Mexico is tied to worldwide trade and economic processes which relate directly to global food security.

Greenhouse gas emissions

According to Mexico's Third National Communication to the UNFCCC, the country emitted 643 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2002, of which almost 400 Mt CO2e resulted from the combustion of fossil fuels (over 60 percent of total emissions). The sources of Mexico's GHG emissions are energy generation (24%), transport (18%), forests and land-use change (14%), waste management (10%), manufacturing and construction (8%), industrial processes (8%), agriculture (7%), fugitive emissions (6%), and other uses (5%). ^W

Climate change and migration

There is evidence to suggest that declining agricultural conditions from climate change in Mexico directly relates to migration to the United States. For example, a direct relationship between declining crop yields in Mexico and migration was found. Declines in agricultural productivity due to climate change might cause 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans to emigrate by the year 2080. ^W

Ethical consumerism[edit | edit source]

Ecotourism: Sierra Gorda

Cycling activism[edit | edit source]

From Wikipedia:Ecobici (Mexico City)

Ecobici is the bicycle sharing system launched in February 2010 by the government of Mexico City. Initially launched with 85 docking stations and 1,000 distinctive red and white liveried bicycles, the network then expanded by September 2013 to be at 276 stations with 4,000 bicycles, and as of April 2015, now has 444 stations with 6,000 bicycles.

Ecological restoration[edit | edit source]

From Ecological restoration Mexico

This page is the beginnings of a portal for Mexico community action in response to Ecological emergency.

Food activism[edit | edit source]

From Sembradores Urbanos

Sembradores Urbanos is a nonprofit urban agriculture demonstration center and outreach group in Mexico City started by three women living in Mexico. There vision is to transform urban soil into green, productive, and sustainable spaces. They opened the The Center for Urban Agriculture Romita, one of the first urban agricultural community spaces in Mexico. The center demonstrates a variety of urban agriculture and organic gardening techniques as well as serving as a space for workshops and courses. Sembradores Urbanos helps give talks at schools and businesses, puts on community movie nights, and helped start the Barter Exchange Merkado de Trueke in Plaza Romita. They also help install gardens in homes and apartments, hospitals, and juvenile detention centers with local volunteers.

Via Organica helping local vendors and farmers thrive

Via Organica, a regenerative farm in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, is more than just a place that grows and sells fresh, organic produce to the local community. Rosana Álvarez, the farm's founder, also runs an educational center, restaurant, and store. By centralizing these operations, Álvarez is seeking to improve the livelihoods for local farmers and vendors.

Álvarez points to the example of a vendor who used to wake up at 4:30 a.m. every morning, take a long bus ride into the city, and walk from house to house selling tortillas. She would often return home at 7-8 p.m. at night, having sold only a few hundred pesos' worth of tortillas — making roughly $10-$20 for a full day's work. But now, Álvarez says, the vendor needs to travel to San Miguel just once per week to deliver tortillas in bulk to Via Organica. And she receives payment up front, Álvarez says. For Álvarez, this model represents a push to better the lives of local food producers and incentivize sustainable agricultural practices.

"I talk to people who take a bus, another bus to make two hundred pesos a day. Via Organica has changed that. People are making 10,000 pesos a week," she says. The extra income improves quality of life for vendors and allows them to spend more time with their families.

Álvarez founded Via Organica in 2009 after learning about organic farming from representatives at the Organic Consumers Association, a U.S.-based advocacy group. She says she was amazed by what she learned about the power of food, and with the help of the association, the farm was born. Almost a decade later, Via Organica now offers more than 2,000 organic and sustainable products in its store and serves hearty and healthy Mexican delicacies in its restaurant.

Álvarez says the organization also hold free workshops, classes, and internships, and helps organize a farmers' market in San Miguel. Every week, locals gather in Via Organica for workshops on healthy eating, composting, and other lessons. At the farm outside of the city, local schoolchildren learn about how to harvest and the different crops Via Organica grows. "Our way of eating has changed," Álvarez says. "Things are getting out of hand. So we are working to return to clean water and clean food. We are educating children."

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect in 1994, the Mexican food system has been destabilized, with processed products imported from the U.S. disrupting small farms. But despite the uphill battle, Álvarez passionately encourages her producers to hold on to their land and their traditions. "I tell my farmers, 'This land is precious,'" she says. "This land without pesticides, they have to hold on to it."

Sustainable farming, especially community-focused projects like Álvarez's, relies on the universal language of food to reshape the way people see their role as stewards of the earth. But it also serves a simpler but equally vital purpose: demystifying agriculture and empowering people with the knowledge of where their food comes from. "We deserve to know what we are eating," Álvarez says...By Casey OBrien, January 30, 2019 on Shareable

Sustainable transport activism[edit | edit source]

Menos cajones más ciudad

Authors: ITDPmx, Mar 27, 2015

ITDP en México

Authors: ITDPmx, Apr 13, 2011

Via RecreActiva

Authors: robasadowsky, May 1, 2007

More video: BRT Mexico City - English on youtube, 2007

Fewer spaces, more city: Parking in Mexico City (2014), mexico.itdp.org
Colectivo camina, haz ciudad (Mexico City)
Towards Carfree Cities X: What happened in Guadalajara from 3 to 10 September 2011? worldstreets.wordpress.com

About Mexico[edit | edit source]

From Wikipedia:Mexico

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. Covering 1,972,550 km² (761,610 sq mi), it is the world's 13th largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th most populous country and has the most Spanish speakers in the world. Mexico is a constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital and largest city, which is among the world's most populous metropolitan areas. The country shares land borders with the United States to the north, with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.

Human presence in Pre-Columbian Mexico dates back to 8,000 BC as one of six cradles of civilization. Mesoamerica hosted civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, and Purepecha. Aztec domination of the area preceded Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, which established the colony of New Spain centered in the former capital, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). The Mexican War of Independence in the early 19th century was followed by political and socioeconomic upheaval. The Mexican–American War resulted in significant territorial losses in 1848. Liberal reforms introduced in the Constitution of 1857 prompted domestic conflict, French intervention, and the establishment of an Empire, countered by the Republican resistance led by Benito Juárez. The rise of Porfirio Díaz's dictatorship in the 19th century sparked the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which led to profound changes, such as the 1917 Constitution. Over the 20th century, Mexico experienced significant economic growth; as well as issues of repression and electoral fraud. The late 20th century saw a shift towards neoliberal policies, exemplified by the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, amidst unrest in Chiapas.

Near you[edit | edit source]

Maps[edit | edit source]

commons:Atlas of Mexico

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Page data
Keywords	countries
Authors	Phil Green
License	CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language	English (en)
Translations	Spanish
Related	1 subpages, 938 pages link here
Aliases	Mexico
Impact	446 page views (more)
Created	November 6, 2006 by Chris Watkins
Last modified	September 27, 2024 by Phil Green
Cite as	Phil Green (2006–2024). "Mexico community action". Appropedia. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
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