6. National Tree Clearing Program: An Environmental Crime for Mexico

The national deforestation program promoted in Mexico during the 1970s was presented as an opportunity to clear ‘idle’ land and to increase rural production. This public policy caused environmental damage to Mexico’s ecosystems by causing the loss of 80 per cent of rainforests in just one decade. The affected people were mainly the ejidatarios and comuneros, who owned the damaged lands. Due to the loss of their natural wealth, their traditional way of life, and the productivity of their lands, they were forced to leave their fields and emigrate. Development policies favoured predatory exploitation of natural resources with high economic benefits in the short term, but with serious negative impacts on soil conservation, land productivity, and the ecological support and regeneration of resources. It was not until the publication of the General Law on Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection (1988, 1996) that the legal protection of soil was addressed from a broader environmental perspective.