| Montreal, 17/12/2003 – On 4 December 2003, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America received Mexico's response to submission SEM-03-004/Alca-Iztapalapa II. The submission was filed with the CEC Secretariat by Ángel Lara García (the "Submitter") on 17 June 2003.
The Submitter asserts that his and his family's health have been affected by pollution generated by Alca, S.A. de C.V. ("Alca"), which operates a footwear materials factory in the Santa Isabel Industrial neighborhood of the Iztapalapa Delegation in Mexico City, where the Submitter lives. According to the Submitter, Alca is failing to comply with Article 150 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilíbrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente—LGEEPA) in managing its hazardous waste. The submission asserts that notwithstanding a denuncia popular (citizen complaint) filed by the Submitter in 1995, environmental authorities are failing to enforce Articles 414, first paragraph, and 415 of the Federal Penal Code (Código Penal Federal), which prescribe fines and prison terms for hazardous substances mismanagement that causes environmental harm.
With respect to the 1995 denuncia popular, in which the Submitter asserted that Alca was violating Article 150 of the LGEEPA, the Party states in its response that the Office of the Federal Attorney General for Environmental Protection (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente—Profepa) processed the file as required by law. It also reports that the official record was lost in a flood at the Profepa archive for closed files, but notes that the complaint did not lead to any criminal investigation. With respect to another denuncia popular, filed by the Submitter in 2000, the Party claims that the case was closed with the issuance of an administrative ruling levying a fine of $2,421 pesos against Alca.
As regards Alca's alleged violations of Article 415, first paragraph of the Federal Penal Code, the Party asserts that pursuant to a technical report issued by agents of the Public Prosecutor (Ministerio Público), neither the commission of the crime nor the likely liability of the suspects was clearly evidenced, "as we deduce from the acts that although the alleged facts may constitute a crime, it is impossible to determine whether the crime exists due to irreparable material hindrance, because the proof provided is insufficient to evidence the crime." With respect to proceedings filed by the Submitter against officials of Profepa, Mexico claims that they were concluded without the issuance of any penalty, for want of evidence regarding the alleged responsibility of the public servants involved. The Party states that it cannot release more information regarding these proceedings because such information has been classified as reserved by the Internal Control Agency of the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales).
Pursuant to Article 15(1) of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the Secretariat must now notify the CEC's Council whether it considers that the submission, in light of Mexico's response, warrants developing a factual record.
The CEC was established under the NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the top environment officials of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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