More than 25 organizations march in Mexico City against fracking and damage attributed to Pemex

More than 25 environmental organizations marched on Saturday, October 17, 2026, in Mexico City, from the Ministry of Energy to Pemex's executive tower, to reject studies on unconventional gas and to denounce environmental damage attributed to the state oil company, according to Aristegui Noticias. The action was held under the slogan "Queremos futuro, no hidrocarburos" (We want a future, not hydrocarbons) and ended in front of the company's corporate headquarters.

The protest took place 10 days after President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed studies to extract unconventional gas, mainly in Coahuila, with the aim of reducing dependence on the United States, the source of 75% of the gas Mexico consumes, according to Infobae. The figure places gas supply as a sensitive issue on the energy agenda: the Burgos basin, in the northeast, is one of the corridors that sustains supply to the center of the country.

The organizers displayed a "counter-gallery" with photographs of fires, flares and spills. Sacni Acosta, of Deuda por Clima and Legaia, said that the communities affected by the roughly 150-day fire at the Krem-1 well, in Las Choapas, Veracruz, did not receive comprehensive reparations, Aristegui Noticias reported. Pemex announced the closure of the well on August 2, and the local municipal government confirmed the start of payments on September 24. The Red Corredor Arrecifal reported hydrocarbons at 113 sites along a 1,168-kilometer coastal stretch between Tabasco and Tamaulipas, according to Infobae.

Karina Villalba, of Noreste Sin Fracking, said that Coahuila and Nuevo León are not a "sacrifice zone," while attendees carried banners tallying nearly 1,500 spills and leaks. A scientific committee recommended limiting the studies to the Burgos and Sabinas-Burro-Picachos basins, excluding Tampico-Misantla, using salt water and recycling at least 75% of the liquid used. The organizations also questioned federal transfers to Pemex, whose financial debt totaled 77,500 million dollars in June, 9.1% less than at the close of 2025, according to the Aristegui Noticias report.

The organizations announced the formation of a national environmental front, according to Infobae. That structure and the progress of the studies in the northeast are the factors that will determine how the demand evolves in the coming weeks.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.