Víctor Manuel Toledo Manzur (born 1945) is a Mexican biologist who served as Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) of Mexico from May 27,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

to September 2,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. This was his first public charge, although he had worked with President

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

(AMLO) since 2011.

Education and professional career

Toledo Manzur has both a master's degree and a doctorate from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM) and has published 200 professional papers and 20 books. He is a researcher in Ecology at the UNAM and a visiting professor at the International University of Andalucía, Spain. In 2011 he founded the ''Red Temática del Consejo Nacional del Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología'' (Thematic Network of the National Council of the National Council of Science and Technology, Conayct). He has worked in nine different Mexican universities, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

; in addition to universities in Venezuela, Cuba, Spain, Ecuador, and Brazil. Toledo was granted the ''Premio Nacional Medio Ambiente'' (1985), the ''Premio Mérito Ecológico'' from the governor of the State of Mexico (1989), and the Luis Elizondo Prize of the

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM; ), also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey () or just Tec, is aresearch university based in Monterrey, Mexico, which has grown to include 35 campuses located across 25 cit ...

(2000). In 2001 he was one of ten people chosen by the Spanish magazine ''Medi Ambient'' , as references of contemporary environmental thought.

Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

Víctor Manuel Toledo was appointed Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources on May 27, 2019, after the resignation of Josefa González Blanco Ortíz Mena on May 27, 2019. González Blanco Ortíz Mena resigned after a scandal wherein she caused a delay on a flight of

Aeroméxico Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; styled as AM), is the flag carrier of Mexico based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico, North, South and Central America, the Ca ...

. Toledo Manzur came under fire in August 2020 when an audio of a March 2020 meeting wherein he criticized A MLO and his government of the

Fourth Transformation The Fourth Transformation () is Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's (commonly known as "AMLO") 2018 campaign promise to do away with privileged abuses that had plagued the country in decades past. López Obrador defined the first ...

became public. He had earlier criticized the environmental impact of the Mayan Train, a major infrastructure and economic development project in the south of the country. He is said to have major differences with

Víctor Villalobos Víctor Manuel Villalobos Arámbula is an agricultural engineer with a specialty in agronomy who serves as the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) in the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AML ...

, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER)in questions of

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

, and with Alfonso Romo, AMLO's Chief of Staff, whom Toledo Manzur has accused of "blocking" environmental and alternative energy projects. Greenpeace Mexico expressed its support for Toledo Manzur, while Javier Villareal Gámez of the

Confederation of Mexican Workers The Confederation of Mexican Workers (''Confederación de Trabajadores de México'' (CTM)) is the largest confederation of labor unions in Mexico. For many years, it was one of the essential pillars of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional ...

(CTM) called for his resignation. Despite calls for Toledo Manzur's resignation, AMLO on August 6 expressed his support. Toledo resigned because of health reasons on September 2, 2020 and will return to his academic work. He was replaced by

María Luisa Albores González Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...

, formerly Secretary of Welfare.

Political positions

Toledo is known for his pro-human rights, pro-ecology, and pro-consumer views and his opposition to big business. No sooner had he been sworn in at SEMARNAT than he took the side of Germán Martínez Cázares,

Mexican Social Security Institute The Mexican Institute of Social Security (, IMSS) is a Federal government of the United Mexican States, governmental organization that assists public health, pensions and social security in Mexico operating under the Secretariat of Health (Mexic ...

(IMSS) in his fight for workers' rights as opposed to the needs of the

Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit (, SHCP) is the finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the federal executive cabinet, appointed to the post by the President ...

(SCHP). In December 2019 he pushed for a ban on

Glyphosate-based herbicides Glyphosate-based herbicides are herbicides made of a glyphosate Salt (chemistry), salt usually combined with other ingredients needed to Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilize the formula and allow penetration into plants. Roundup (herbicide), ''Round ...

. In June 2020 he came out in favor of nationalizing Mexico's lithium mines in Sonora, the largest in the world. He is an ally of Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion,

Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez is a Mexican epidemiologist, author, and public health official who has served as head of the Undersecretariat of Prevention and Health Promotion at the Mexican Secretariat of Health since 2018. Since January 2020, ...

in his opposition to sugary drinks and junk food. He has been a critic of the Maya Train on both human rights and environmental grounds, although he is not an outright opponent. He has supported the construction of the refinery in Dos Bocas, Veracruz sighting the need for energy independence. He supports the construction of the General Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Santa Lucía, State of Mexico. Victor Toledo's greatest controversy came after the release of a March 2020 audio recording in which he criticized AMLO's administration for a lack of direction. He criticized the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development for its support of agribusiness, the

Secretariat of the Interior The Secretariat of the Interior (; SEGOB) is the executive department of the Mexican government concerned with the country's domestic affairs, the presenting of the president's bills to Congress, their publication in the ''Official Journal of ...

for its support of construction of a brewery in an area susceptible to drought, and Alfonso Romo's general opposition to environmental concerns. AMLO announced his support for a ban on

glyphosate-based herbicides Glyphosate-based herbicides are herbicides made of a glyphosate Salt (chemistry), salt usually combined with other ingredients needed to Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilize the formula and allow penetration into plants. Roundup (herbicide), ''Round ...

on September 2, 2020, the same day that Toledo resigned from his position at SEMARNAT. Toledo's opposition to the use of glyphosates appears to be the main reason he was pushed out of his post, and the government has had to provide protection since Toledo's home was attacked by pesticide advocates.

Personal life

Víctor Manuel Toledo Manzur was born in Mexico City on October 18, 1945.

Publications

Victor Toledo has written 12 books and 40 scientific articles. *''La Ecologia del ejido: hacia una estrategia de eco-desarrollo en México''. México, 1976 *''Ecología y autosuficiencia alimentaria''. México, 1985 *''La Producción Rural en México: alternativas ecológicas''. 1989 *''México: diversidad de culturas''. México, 1995 *''La Paz en Chiapas: Ecología, luchas indígenas y modernidad alternativa''. México, 2000 *''La Modernización Rural de México: un análisis socio-ecológico''. 2002 *''Ecología, espiritualidad y conocimiento: De la sociedad del riesgo a la sociedad sustentable''. México. 2003 *Toledo, V.M. y N. Barrera-Bassols. 2008. ''La Memoria Biocultural''. Icaria Editorial. *''El Planeta es Nuestro Cuerpo'' (Revista Etnobiología 9, 2011:78). *González de Molina M. y V.M. Toledo. 2014. ''The Social Metabolism''. Springer. *Toledo, V.M. y B. Ortíz-Espejel. 2014. ''Regiones que Caminan hacia la Sustentabilidad''. Universidad Iberoamericana y CONACyT. *''Ecocidio en México: La batalla final es por la vida''. Mexico, 2015

References

External links

SEMARNAT (official page) Google Scholar (publications by V. M. Toledo)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toledo, Victor Manuel 1945 births Living people Mexican biologists Secretaries of the environment of Mexico Morena (political party) politicians National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Politicians from Mexico City Cabinet of Andrés Manuel López Obrador