Mexico's enactment in March 1988 of the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection under then-President Miguel de la Madrid marked the beginning of an ambitious environmental program that is being carried forth with equal or greater vigor by the present administration of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. The Social Development Secretariat (SEDESOL), created in May 1992, to assume the responsibilities formerly discharged by its predecessor, the Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology (SEDUE), today administers with but few notable exceptions a full panoply of environmental laws and regulations. The legislative and regulatory framework is complemented by an equally formidable array of enforcement tools.¹

Despite Mexico's improved environmental legal regime, increases in budgeted environmental expenditures, and a larger environmental staff, the perception remains, both domestically and abroad, that Mexico still lacks the enforcement capabilities needed to implement the legislative mandate of the 1988 General Law. This perception may explain why SEDESOL has pledged on numerous occasions to explore new means of increasing public involvement in the enforcement process.