The Green Party of Mexico emerged from a group of non-governmental organizations (NGO's) dedicated to ecological activities. This group considered that as NGOs they couldn't influence many of the political decisions that directly affected the environment. Therefore, they joined forces and constituted the Ecologist Party, which later became the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (Partido Verde Ecologista de México). As a political party the Mexican Greens competed in their first elections in 1988, joining in a coalition with Mexico's third political force.
Many of our Party leaders are indigenous people and most of them speak native languages.
In 1994, the Mexican Greens ran Gorge Gonzalez Torres as the presidential candidate. After an intensive campaign around all the rural and marginal areas of Mexico Jorge Gonzalez obtained 1.48% of the votes. Although we were 0.02% short of federal representation we received 4.5% in Mexico City and won two local deputies. Also, the Greens won other local deputies as well as two mayors and over 50 local councilors. In total, over 500,000 people voted for the Green Party. The Green Party of Mexico is now a national party with active members from each of the 32 states of the country. There is at least one meeting every six months with all the representatives from the states in order to coordinate activities and political matters.
To understand the development of the Green Party of Mexico we must understand Mexico's history and political background. Nearly 500 years ago the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs. This occidental civilization imposed Spanish values as well as their form of social stratification on the Aztecs. Since this conquest, the Spanish white elite has been in charge of the decisions of the nation and has accumulated land in a disproportional way. The independence fight was only a transference of power. Thereafter the sons of the Spaniards would have political power. Freedom was not achieved.
The Mexican Greens will join forces with other social organizations and left wing parties to build a wide front against the ruling party.
After several decades of discontent and social mobilization the Mexican Revolution erupted in a savage war that only gave power to a selected group or elite which formed the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). This Party has ruled the country for more than 60 years in an authoritarian way. Rather than establishing equality and justice, the PRI has widen the social gap and ignored the indigenous groups, seeing them as an obstacle to their goals.
That is why through out their history, the Mexican Greens have dedicated a lot of effort to indigenous people. We consider that this important social group has been historically humiliated and marginalized by the ruling elite which governs in a corrupt and filthy way. Many of our Party leaders are indigenous people and most of them speak native languages; 80% of our candidates in 1994 were native people. The Green Party of Mexico tries to protect the ancestral Mexican cultures as well as their values. We have great respect for them because we believe that they had a harmonious relationship with the elements of the earth: water, land, air and fire.
In Mexico City there have been thousands of cases of illness caused by high levels of pollution and governmental authorities seem blind to the problem.
Besides fighting this social struggle, the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico has also developed many projects around the nation. All of these projects are based upon necessity. For example, Mexico City has one of the highest levels of pollution in the world. Therefore Greens acquired an ozone gas analyzer. This machine measures ozone levels with precision. With this data we can compare the official numbers with a really good estimate and tell the public if the government is reporting accurate measurements. This project was initiated because of lack of trust in government. In Mexico City there have been thousands of cases of illness caused by high levels of pollution and governmental authorities seem blind to the problem. In their eyes, they can't afford to close factories that pollute the city.
Also, to fight the pollution problem, we have promoted alternative transportation methods, like the use of bicycles and electric transportation. In addition we have planted over 200,000 trees. The Green Party of Mexico has done serious research on the quality of the drinking water in various sites of the city, finding polluted water in many areas. This caused a lot of protest from the Greens in order to attract the public's attention. Hundreds of activities like this take place around Mexico and every time more people get involved because they see in our political consciousness a solution to their misery and to the devastation of nature.
Currently the Mexican Greens are preparing for the upcoming elections, which will be a real turning point in Mexico's political life. The PRI has been losing ground to other political forces. For the first time in history the governor of Mexico City will be elected directly. In the past the government of Mexico City was appointed by the President. Now in 1997 the people will vote for the government. With so much social pressure the PRI will have trouble manipulating the elections. The Mexican Greens will join forces with other social organizations and left wing parties to build a wide front against the ruling party. There are great opportunities for our party and for the conservation of nature. With the consciousness and the political culture of the people we will eventually achieve our goals.