Mexicos Green Party emerged as a strong kingmaker from the midterm elections. This is the good news. The Partido Verde Ecologista de Mxico (or PVEM) quadrupled the number of its seats in Congress' lower chamber. This is what President Andrs Manuel Obradors Morena, its ruling partner, required to win an absolute majority in Congress. It was no small feat that the Greens won a governorship for San Luis Potos in central Mexico.AdvertisementUnfortunately, the party is now in serious trouble with independent electoral authorities. The party allegedly paid social media influencers for support in its candidates' final days before the election. This is when electioneering is prohibited. Federal authorities are investigating Ricardo Gallardo Carmona (the party's governor-elect) for money laundering and illegal enrichment.AdvertisementAdvertisementPerhaps most important, Mexican environmentalists have long regarded the party as green in the same manner that AstroTurf.The party seems simple enough at first glance. The party's symbol is the toucan. Its official website contains a variety of videos on how to make cat toys and indoor plants. There are also links to information about poisonous foods for dogs and ways to recycle dishwater. The PVEM is more than just a political party. It's an opportunistic alliance with winning parties that continues to build its strength. It has demonstrated remarkable ideological flexibility by aligning itself with AMLO, the current president, and his two predecessors from different parties. Its current alliance with AMLO is a disgrace to the parties' greenness. The AMLO government is known for its disregard for the environment and places bets on the nation's oil industry at the cost of investment in renewable energy. They also promote grand projects like the Tren Maya or the Mayan Train that are being built without regard to their environmental impact.AdvertisementPartido Verdes' origins date back to 1979, and the actions it has taken are worthy of its name. It was founded by a group of neighbors from the southern border of Mexico City who wanted to preserve green spaces. In 1991, it became an officially recognized party and has steadily moved to the center of the political scene. The number of congressional representations it received on the June 6 elections makes the PVEM the fourth-largest political force in Mexico.AdvertisementA Mexican government's generous public financing system can make it possible to be a member of a political party. Even a marginal one can still be a profitable business. Since 1997, the PVEM has received 7.4 billion pesos of federal support, which is roughly $370 million today at current exchange rates. There have also been more state-level funding and non-cash logistical support.AdvertisementCritics claim that the party has become a tightly managed family business and is increasingly embroiled in controversy. Jorge Gonzlez Torres, the party's founder, was elected president for a period of ten years. His son Jorge Emilio Gonzlez Martnez succeeded him. He ruled for ten more years until 2011. Both men are still members of the party's national council. The Partido Verde, which is a franchise of Gonzlez Torres' family, and a few politicians have used it to enter public office and to conduct shady business. Miguel ngel Toro, national coordinator of the government program at Tecnolgico de Monterrey, explained that this is how the Partido Verde came to be.Jorge Emilio Gonzlez Martnez is a controversial figure and a symbol of many of the problems with the PVEM. Gonzlez Martnez, the party's president in 2004, was caught in a leaked video apparently accepting a $2million bribe to build hotels in Cancn's beach resort hot spot. After an investigation, he was cleared. Gonzlez Martnez called him the Nio Verde, which is a nickname for Gonzlez Martnez's green boy. He was well-known for hiring models and escorts to attend his lavish parties. A model from Bulgaria fell to her death in 2011 from a 19th-floor apartment belonging to Gonzlez Martnez. The suicide was ruled by federal prosecutors, but the Nio Verde was not hurt. Gonzlez Martnez was also detained in 2013 for drunken driving while he was senator.AdvertisementAdvertisementBeyond its founder family, the party is plagued by questionable behavior. Manuel Velasco (a PVEM senator) is under investigation for $24 million in deferred funds in the state Chiapas, when he was the governor.The Green Party symbolizes a change in color for every presidential administration, by supporting the party most likely win. It became red through its alliances with the PRI and the PAN. Now it is brown with Lpez Obradors ruling Party, Morena. This tit for tact is the key to the survival of the Green Party. It helps the dominant parties keep power and also gets a piece of the cake. It is not recognized internationally as a green party. After the PVEM campaign for capital punishment, the European Green Party lost its international recognition in 2009.AdvertisementAlthough the PVEM typically gets a small share of the popular vote, it often wins because of alliances it makes with other parties. The PVEM joined an alliance called Juntos Haremos Historia with Morena, the Workers Party, PT. All three parties agreed that they would run together for 183 seats, 50 of which would be given to the PVEM if it won. The PVEM received approximately 2.5 million votes on June 6, which is 5.4 percent of all national votes. Its victory is largely due to the success of the coalition. Miguel ngel Toro said that the Partido Verde was a pragmatic party with no ideology. It has been with parties from the center and right. This gives the Green Party more energy than it needs.AdvertisementAdvertisementIn order to attract voters, the party has also been known to violate electoral law. The investigation into the PVEM centers on allegations that it paid influencers to help promote it after the campaign period for this year's midterm elections ended. 95 people are being investigated and the party could be fined or lose their registration. This tactic isn't new. The PVEM has used celebrities to gain popular support in the past. The party paid up to $50,000 to a soccer player for endorsement in 2015. In the 2018 presidential election, it broke electoral law by asking celebrities to tweet their support when campaigning was prohibited. This behavior was repeatedly condemned by the National Electoral Institute, which imposed several millions of pesos to the PVEM for violating the law on campaign tactics and expenses. Televisa and TV Azteca have also been close to the party, who have given hundreds of thousands of TV spots and lent their celebrities as endorsements. Ninfa Salinas Sada was, for instance, the daughter of Ricardo Salinas Pliego (TV Azteca owner) and a senator for Green Party.AdvertisementPVEMs current partnership will likely require loyalty to the presidents agenda. In an interview with Expansin, she stated that the Green Party is environmentalist and, above all, the Green Party is with citizens.AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, Lpez Obrador's influence on Mexican politics is almost prophetic. The president's vision and national agenda cannot be supported by a green party that doesn't compromise its environmental values. Since his election, Lpez Obrador was criticized for destroying the environment and promising to save the state-owned oil company Pemex. The refineries, which use high-polluting fuel oil and are slowing in production, already have six other refineries. Dos Bocas is a new refinery that will be built on top of protected mangroves which were razed by the company. It is expected to cost over $8 billion. Pemex also purchased the entire stakes in the Deer Park refinery, Houston, Texas for $596million as part of President Obama's pledge to be self-sufficient in gasoline or diesel.AdvertisementIn an attempt to favor Pemex, the ruling party of AMLOS is pushing legislation that would harm the renewable energy sector. This administration has altered regulatory rules, cancelled energy auctions and raised what was once some of the most affordable electricity prices in the world for renewable projects. Numerous renewable energy companies are now fighting the changes in court. Greenpeace and the antitrust agency COFECE were both indicted for actions that could have prevented new clean energy power stations from being built. Mexico is not meeting its Paris Agreement commitments at the current rate. In particular, it is failing to generate 35 percent of its energy cleanly by 2024, and to adjust its target to reduce its emissions even further by 2030.AdvertisementThe Mayan Train is another of President Trump's most important projects. It faces opposition from Indigenous groups as well as activists trying to preserve their land against dispossession. After residents complained about lack of information, a federal judge in Yucatn suspended the construction of sections of the railroad and ordered a thorough study of its environmental impact.The Green Party supports legislation to address climate change, deforestation and pollution, as well as animal rights and water rights. It also supported the 201314 energy reform, which opened the doors to clean energy. The Partido Verde's attractive branding is hindered by a lack of political will and the priority of corporate interests over public or environmental interests. The way legislators vote on green issues or reforms is largely determined by their relationships with industry lobbyists. This is more about what they can get from them than how they defend the environment. This is what ultimately blocks or puts proposals on hold, despite all the science and evidence supporting them.The private sector actors, activists, and civil society groups that are leading the defense of Mexico's fragile environment, sometimes with fatal consequences, still await the arrival of a true green party to join them in their fight.Future Tense is a collaboration between Slate, New America and Arizona State University. It examines emerging technologies and public policy.
