Mexico’s five presidential candidates have begun their stretch-run to the July 2 election. But even at this late stage, proposals to confront the country’s numerous environmental challenges remain conspicuously absent from their speeches. “The candidates are focused on problems they and the people view as more important: jobs, safety, health and education,” says José Luis Lezama, director of the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies at the Colegio de México, a leading graduate research and teaching institution here. “When they do talk about the environment, it’s in the context of the loss of natural resources as raw materials for consumption.” Green groups such as Greenpeace Mexico complain the candidates have failed to acknowledge the inherent value of healthy ecosystems, and how destruction of... [Log in to read more]