© Anibal Adrian Greco / The New York Times Schlumberger employees work during an oil fracking process in Vaca Muerta in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina, September 20, 2013.
In Mexico, recently passed energy reform legislation promotes fracking as a means of extracting shale gas - and with the reform, the government has opened the oil industry up to the private sector. More than 1,000 wells using the technique are currently in operation in at least 11 of Mexico's 32 states. These fracking efforts are largely being carried out by North American companies such as Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes, among others.
"I didn't know anything about oil, but after our water started to get contaminated, we found out that more than 240 wells in our region were using that thing they call fracking," Mariana Rodríguez, from the community of Papantla, Veracruz, told Truthout. "Now all our water sources have become contaminated."
Comment: There is a vast quantity of evidence demonstrating that fracking destroys the environment and human health, but so far the power of the oil and gas industry with its ties to governments has been able to override any opposition. They have been assisted due to the fact that many people have been denied accurate knowledge of the impacts of fracking on their communities, but this appears to be changing as more people become aware of the real costs involved.