Sánchez Vallejos, E: Environmental groups in Mexico

In countries such as Mexico, where democratic regimes violate the rights of civil society to express their discontent and point out the failures of the state, civil action has increasingly become more organised and participatory. The present work constitutes an analysis of the impact of social movements on the political process in Mexico. It particularly looks at the Anti-nuclear Power environmental movement, headed by a group of women called "Madres Veracruzanas", who have strongly opposed the establishment of the nuclear plant of "Laguna Verde", in the State of Veracruz. The topic is particularly interesting because it addresses different issues such as the role of women as agents of mobilisation and social transformation, based on a common identity as mothers. It questions the process of democratisation through the action of social movements that struggle to challenge the anti- democratic political process of the state and to become an important social and political force in Mexico.