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The smell of gas lingers in the air

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In Veracruz, home to Mexico's principal oil wells, residents and indigenous
communities say fracking has polluted their land, waters and air

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They are urging the government to do no more. This is a threat
to life, not just for me, but for the entire Totonac region

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which has come together to file complaints and raise
awareness about spills that have occurred not only this year

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but in previous years as well. President
Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday

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she is considering using hydraulic fracturing technologies,
or fracking, to increase domestic gas production

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Fracking, which Sheinbaum has previously spoken out against,
is a technique to extract hydrocarbons from underground

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practiced for decades by Mexico's state oil company,
Pemex. Sheinbaum argues there are new technologies

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that do less environmental damage
and that the plan will allow Mexico

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to be less dependent on U.S.
imports. In the world we live in

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Mexico must safeguard its sovereignty. And
energy sovereignty is a fundamental part of that

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According to Mexico's government, 75% of
its gas used for electricity generation

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is imported, mostly from the U.S. This makes the country
especially vulnerable to conflicts like the war in Iran

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which has severely disrupted energy markets across the world