For many years, Vulcan Materials Co. has been involved in the construction industry in Mexico. However, later events substantially changed the company’s reputation in the country. The Mexican government unexpectedly took control of the company’s port and some of its land, making it difficult for the Alabama-based company to go on business. With this unexpected change of events, many people are now unsure about what will happen to Vulcan Materials Co. and the Mexican construction industry as a whole.
Vulcan stated on March 20 that the Mexican government has taken control of its Playa del Carmen port terminal. According to Reuters, the event apparently happened on March 14. Military forces and employees of the Mexican cement manufacturer Cemex entered the building. The manufacturer of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, Vulcan, issued a statement denouncing Cemex and the government for their “reckless and abhorrent armed seizure.”
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Prosecutors and a court order supported a risky raid on Vulcan’s terminal in a legal showdown. Yet, there’s still more! In a snappy response, Vulcan asserted that the raid was unlawful but offered no supporting documentation. The situation is made much more interesting by the fact that Cemex, the US corporation involved, openly defended themselves by citing a clause in their contract that purportedly granted them access to the terminal. A courtroom drama that belongs on the big screen!
Due to Mexico’s closure of its operations last year, Vulcan will have a difficult time supplying materials for American road and bridge construction. The corporation has allegedly attempted to mine minerals in Mexico without the necessary authorization, according to allegations made by Mexican President AndrĂ©s Manuel LĂłpez Obrador. Because to these issues, Vulcan must strike a careful balance between adhering to the law and satisfying its clients’ needs.
According to Fox News, Vulcan CEO J. Thomas Hill requested the government to “immediately order its forces and officials to vacate [the company’s] private property” in a letter to Mexico Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán. He continued by claiming it was a “gross infringement” of its property rights and a prime example of Mexico treating the US corporation in a “arbitrary and illegal manner.”
The Mexican government’s seizure of the port facility, according to Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), is “unlawful and unacceptable,” and she urged President Joseph Biden to bring it up with the US ally and make it clear that the actions “will not be accepted.”
