Vulcan Materials Company respects and values the people of Mexico and believes you deserve the truth about who we are, how we operate, and our commitment to you and Mexico. While we continue to await legal rulings on the Government of Mexico’s persistent unlawful actions against us, we feel compelled to dispel false allegations that continue to be made against the Company.
In recent days, we have been subject to more of the same disparage-and-harass campaign that we have endured in recent years. The Mexican government is using these political threats and false allegations to try to justify converting our property into a “naturally protected area,” which could—ironically—be used not to protect the environment but for commercial tourism purposes and naval operations, including cruise ship activity. We will not accept this unlawful expropriation of our investments.
Throughout our history in Mexico, we have seen indications of intensifying third-party interest in our property and port facilities. In the 1980s, Playa del Carmen was a quiet fishing village. We identified and purchased private property that had been devastated by hurricanes, fires and other events but contained valuable limestone reserves under the surface. After lengthy studies and careful consideration, Mexican authorities deemed this area ideal for the development of a long-term export project that demanded extensive investment, expertise, and work.
Today, this coveted property is close to a world-class tourist region and includes a deepwater port, port infrastructure, freshwater lakes, reforested jungle and a large undeveloped parcel of land initially recognized for quarrying use, all a result of Vulcan’s planning, efforts, experience, investments, and stewardship.
Our activities are legitimate, common, necessary, and legal. For nearly 40 years, we have produced essential construction materials in Mexico—the kind of materials used to build communities and the infrastructure that supports them. SAC TUN’s products—much of it donated or sold below international market rates—were essential to the construction and maintenance of the Cancun and Cozumel airports, the Playa del Carmen-Cancún Highway 307, the Playa del Carmen-El Tintal motorway 305D, roads and streets, housing, schools, hotels, commercial and entertainment centers, and other businesses.
We operated legally in full compliance with the many permits that were appropriately granted in accordance with Mexican laws throughout many decades. We have a proven record of compliance with laws and regulations at all three levels of government—federal, state and municipal—which has enabled both the issuance and renewal of multiple permits that regulate our activities for nearly 40 years. The notion that we have acted unlawfully or secretly, or that our permits were granted irregularly is simply false and deliberately biased with propagandistic aims to justify the government’s unlawful conduct. Unlike other quarrying sites that have been operating unlawfully to supply the Mayan Train, our operations were duly permitted.
We took steps to minimize the environmental impacts of our operations—and often went well beyond what Mexican laws required to mitigate them. Of course, even with the strictest adherence to laws, regulations, and permits, there are expected impacts associated with our business. However, those impacts were assessed and permitted by the Mexican government. We never “destroyed paradise,” caused an “ecocide,” or adversely affected mangroves, cenotes or vestiges, as has been falsely alleged. We have always acted transparently and have never deceived anyone.
Quite the opposite is true: through the years we received multiple PROFEPA Clean Industry Certificates, which recognized our responsible environmental stewardship. SAC TUN has undertaken ambitious reforestation efforts and wildlife conservation. Our operations have not adversely affected underground caves, cenotes or archaeological sites. In fact, we have mapped, protected and preserved these valuable resources. The present state of our properties is that of a project still in development and subject to final reclamation as a beneficial end use.
We have continuously invested in the people of the Riviera Maya—starting with our employees. SAC TUN provides stable, well-paid, quality, permanent jobs to the community. Even with the closure of our operations, we continue to compensate our workers to maintain our equipment and property, ensure safety and health compliance, conduct environmental stewardship and engage with the community—even though we cannot produce or sell materials because of arbitrary actions designed to force us to give up our valuable, long-standing investments in the region. SAC TUN provides subsidized housing to 120 employees and their families. It also created and provides ongoing support for the Instituto Playa del Carmen de La Salle—the first bilingual school in the Riviera Maya, now with 450 students and 50 teachers. The Company has paid—and continues to pay—millions of dollars in taxes to the federal, state, and local governments.
We remain open to a good-faith, mutually beneficial, amicable resolution of the disputes between Vulcan and the Government of Mexico. The fact that Vulcan has not yielded to government pressure and manipulation does not mean we are “arrogant.” We never received a “generous offer” to buy our property. We received an informal, unsigned, and undetailed appraisal, which substantially undervalues our assets, including the limestone reserves we rightfully own under Mexican law, as well as the only deep water port in the region. We will not give up our valuable investments for a nominal amount that does not reflect the true value of our property.
Statment is available here.