In mid-August, a week after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced plans to evaluate unconventional gas extraction, a group of protesters gathered outside the Government Palace in the northern state of Nuevo Leon to demonstrate against hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking.

“Here in the Northeast, we do not want this to happen,” says environmental activist Alejandra Guillen.

Guillen belongs to “Noreste sin Fracking,” a collective network formed in northern Mexico after a presidential panel of experts recommended evaluating potential fracking sites across Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas. The proposed expansion into the northern Burgos and Sabina basins is part of a government initiative to boost domestic gas production and reduce dependence on US energy imports. Mexico imports 75% of the natural gas it consumes.

“As part of energy sovereignty, to avoid depending more and more on foreign supply, we have publicly opened up the possibility of using unconventional gas in certain areas of the country, where social justice and a minimal environmental impact are guaranteed,” President Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference on August 6.

Activists and residents, however, question claims of minimal environmental impact, arguing that the extraction method threatens water supplies and causes irreversible environmental harm. Furthermore, experts note that the steep financial costs of fracking not only cast doubt on its long-term viability but also raise questions about national sovereignty, as the operations would rely heavily on major foreign corporations, primarily from the US.

Fracking relies on blasting a high-pressure liquid mixture deep underground to crack open dense layers of rock and extract trapped oil and natural gas. Luca Ferrari, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), explains that the technique uses toxic chemicals that threaten to pollute air, surface water, and underground aquifers.

“It is not a technological miracle,” Ferrari says. “It is an act of desperation because oil is running out.”The committee convened in April and recommended a strict ban on hydraulic fracturing in the Tampico-Misantla basin, located along the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico, to protect biodiversity and dense regional populations following widespread local opposition.

The panel left the door open for the northern Sabinas-Burro-Picachos and Burgos basins, but made further exploration conditional on confirming by exploratory wells of the presence of deep saltwater, a measure designed to safeguard freshwater reserves required for human consumption. On October 6, Alicia Barcena, Mexico’s environment secretary, clarified that President Sheinbaum has not authorized fracking pilot tests, only tests to verify the availability of deep, saline water.

Carrying banners with slogans such as “Protect our water. Prohibit fracking” and “We are not a sacrifice zone,” demonstrators challenged the concept of sustainable fracking and questioned the decision to only prohibit the practice in areas deemed rich in biodiversity and dense in population.

“Many people live here too, and there are many highly valuable ecosystems,” Guillen added. "Just because they aren't as popular doesn't mean they lack value.”Racing to safeguard the territories On the morning of September 24, more than 60 chairs lined the community center in Bustamante, a town located within the Sabinas Basin, two hours from Monterrey. The meeting was organized by Nuevo Leon’s environment minister and Pronatura, an environmental non-governmental organization, to inform residents about a proposal to declare a portion of Bustamante a protected natural area.

Adults filled half the room, while schoolchildren occupied the rest in an effort to engage younger generations; however, the turnout remained low for a town of more than 3,600 people. Although the proposal was not openly presented as a strategy to oppose fracking in the region, some attendees and the town’s mayor viewed it as a way to shield the municipality.

Mario Resendez, the mayor, acknowledged that oil reserves are in decline and that turning to shale gas is being proposed as the alternative. However, he said that doing this in Bustamante, a town that relies heavily on tourism and agriculture, would have a major impact. Although the federal government has not mentioned which specific areas of the basin it will focus on, Resendez said that, judging by the map, Bustamante is included.

“If Bustamante is part of those plans, it will kill us,” he added. “Huge amounts of water are used, and on top of that, chemicals are added; our town would disappear.”Antonio Hernandez, a biologist with Pronatura, warned that fracking operations threaten local water supplies in an already arid region. He noted that hydraulic fracturing is linked to induced seismicity, which could further affect water availability for both domestic use and agriculture.

Bustamante is no stranger to fracking plans. In 2018, the local government declared Sierra Gomas, identified as an area for unconventional hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, a protected natural reserve. Amalia Martinez, a resident of Bustamante, was part of the group of citizens who protested those initial plans. She noted that she believed former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s pledge to avoid fracking would continue under Sheinbaum’s administration.

The current government faces mounting pressure as a widening gap between soaring domestic demand and stagnant domestic output drives up natural gas imports. The National Center for Natural Gas Control (Cenagas) stated that the country has enough gas reserves to last up to three days if US imports are cut off.

The Ministry of Energy’s latest development plan outlines an aggressive target: ramping up domestic dry natural gas production to nearly 5 billion cubic feet per day. Currently, Mexico consumes roughly 9 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, while the heavily indebted state oil giant Pemex supplies just 2.3 billion cubic feet of that total.

Ferrari says that although Mexico is in a critical position, fracking produces less than conventional wells -- 10 to 100 times less, according to him -- and is highly expensive. “Consequently, 10 to 100 times more wells must be drilled,” he added.

Physicians for Social Responsibility, a US nongovernmental organization, said in a 2023 report that fracking cannot be practiced in a manner that does not threaten human health and the climate.

Ignacio Villarreal, who moved to Bustamante from Monclova, Coahuila, five years ago, says he and his wife, Sylvia Valdes, have witnessed the impact of exploratory gas activities firsthand. In Castanos, a town neighboring Monclova, exploratory drilling to determine shale viability fueled local tensions as the arid region grappled with rapidly declining aquifers. “We often visited family and friends there, and the water supply was already fragile,” he said.

Lourdes Gonzalez, a local nurse, echoed Villarreal’s concerns, emphasizing that greater public awareness and community mobilization are critical to bolstering opposition and safeguarding local water supplies. However, Hernandez, the biologist, noted that the region’s low population density and high levels of violence made it difficult to organize a mobilization with significant political weight.

While Sheinbaum has stated that communities will be consulted before any plans move forward, attendees expressed hope that the concerns raised at the meeting would resonate throughout the town and drive broader participation. González said that building community awareness is vital, noting: “Fracking poses a significant threat to our water supply and the life of our town. Something must be done.”