CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

An Opening for a Latin American United Front Against Corporate Lawfare

For decades now, Mexico has faced a battery of lawsuits under trade and investment treaties that allow private foreign investors to bypass domestic courts and sue governments in international arbitration tribunals.

It’s high time for President Claudia Sheinbaum to join with other Latin American leaders who are rejecting this corporate-driven, anti-democratic system.

One of the largest suits Mexico has ever faced is a pending claim from Alabama-based Vulcan Materials Company. In 2022, the Mexican government found evidence that Vulcan’s limestone quarrying operation on the Yucatán coast was causing severe damage to underground water tables and local ecosystems. The government halted operations and declared the area a protected natural zone.

Vulcan retaliated against the government’s efforts to protect the environment and public health by filing a claim for $1.9 billion in compensation. The company claims that Mexico’s actions violate the investment rules of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

With this case still pending, the U.S. House of Representatives has just ratcheted up pressure on the Mexican government by passing a bill to impose sanctions on governments that seize U.S. corporate........

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