▲ Alicia Bárcena appeared yesterday before the Senate commissions, where he gave alternative to the resource cut to Semarnat.Photo Germán Canseco
Jared Laureles
La Jornada newspaper
Thursday, October 2, 2025, p. 5
The head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, expressed concern about the budgetary decrease facing the agency, but hoped that this could be compensated with the return by the farm of surplus resources for 5,800 million pesos.
By appearing before the Senate commissions for three hours, he said that these funds do not represent an additional burden on the federal budget, since they are properly collected by the Semarnat, as a result of the procedures and permits it grants.
Given the opposition accusations on the 36.8 percent decrease in the dependency budget during 2025, and what is projected for exercise 2026, the official insisted that surplus resources will allow him to face the challenges in environmental matters.
“We are asking that, with the Federal Rights Law, these surpluses return to us. There we have 5,800 million pesos, so we could work hard. Then, it is the decision of the Treasury that will return the money that we have raised,” he said.
The head of the Semarnat emphasized that there can be no social justice without environmental justice, and highlighted the strategy of the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum for the restoration of ecosystems, water care, climate change, protection of marine species and reforestation programs.
Senator Gina Campuzano (PAN) acknowledged this plan, but asked how Semarnat is prepared to face environmental challenges with less resources.
Bárcena replied that options are being sought, “without hurting” the federal budget; He even said, international funds have been used.
During her speech, the federal official warned that in Mexico there have been 125 areas with illegal felling risk, where the support of federal instances is required as crime is involved.
For this reason, he asked the senators to harden the sanctions against the people who commit this crime. “We will need the support of the National Guard and Defense, because we obviously have very severe problems, even organized crime,” he said.
In his appearance before the Environment and Climate Change Commission, Bárcena acknowledged that 70 percent of the rivers in Mexico are contaminated, so one of the commitments of President Sheinbaum is to clean up three of the most affected in the country: the Atoyac, the Tula and the Lerma-Santiago basin; The latter will receive an investment of 2 billion pesos in 2026.
He also highlighted the National Water Plan, which involves the technification of agricultural irrigation and the ordering of permits and concessions, to which the water initiatives that the president signed yesterday are added.
Another priorities of the federal government, he stated, is the National Climate Change Plan, which consists of reducing 35 percent greenhouse gases to fulfill the nationally determined commitment 2.0, in addition to reforesting 200 thousand hectares of forests and 18 thousand hectares of mangroves.
On the environmental impact of the Mayan Train, in the Yucatan Peninsula, the official reported that through an inter -institutional table the works are reviewed in the seven track sections to evaluate the restored surface.
