Ecobreves – MEXICO: Greens Grow

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MEXICO CITY, Jul 14 2003 (IPS) - The Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) has established its place as the country's fourth political force after the Jul. 6 legislative elections, winning 50 percent more votes than it did in 2000. But environmental groups say they don't expect major changes from the party, which is seen as inconsistent. The PVEM's growth — capturing 6.2 percent of the votes cast — “does not assure us anything, nor de we have much hope in the other parties, because none have clear platforms on the environment,” Alejandro Calvillo, director of Greenpeace-Mexico, said in comments to Tierramérica.

With 17 seats in the 500-member Chamber of Deputies, the PVEM lags far behind the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party), PAN (National Action Party) and PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party), which hold 100 to 227 seats each.

People hear the word “green” and they think the party carries the banner of all of us who work on behalf of the environment, but the party does not represent the ecological movement, according to Calvillo.

Greenpeace accuses the PVEM of acting superficially and with little knowledge when it comes to promote environmentally friendly laws.