Day 694 — Sheinbaum Signs Overhaul of 38-Year-Old Environmental Law, Sends It to Congress

On August 26, 2026 (Day 694, Wednesday), President Sheinbaum signed an initiative to overhaul the Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente (LGEEPA), Mexico's core environmental statute, unchanged in substance since 1988 (last major update 1995). Environment Secretary Alicia Bárcena presented the ten guiding principles at the mañanera, framing the bill around ecological justice: an earlier and broader Strategic Environmental Assessment requirement for large projects, a ban on splitting projects into smaller pieces to dodge regional review, new restoration programs for rivers, mangroves, coastlines and forests, financial compensation for communities that protect natural areas, and new protections for environmental defenders. The initiative — proposed under the title Ley General de Protección Ecológica y Justicia Ambiental — now goes to the Chamber of Deputies for debate.