The administration of Mexican President Vicente Fox sent a tax reform bill to the Mexican Congress last week that contains strong environmental protection and cleanup provisions. Environment Minister Victor Lichtinger said that under the bill, ranching and mining interests would have to start paying for the water they use, giving them an incentive to conserve, and the worst-polluting cars would be taxed so that they became the most expensive cars on the market. Lichtinger said the new administration would rigorously enforce current environmental laws, pointing out that it had already begun to clamp down on water-pollution violations by Pemex, the state-owned oil monopoly.
