José Campillo was handed the reins of the Mexican Attorney General’s Office for Protection of the Environment (Profepa) shortly after President Vicente Fox took office in December of last year. As the country’s environmental policeman, he has the difficult task of turning cash-strapped Profepa into an effective guardian of Mexico’s rapidly disappearing natural wealth. He plans a total overhaul of the agency’s structure and mentality. An attorney with post-graduate degrees in economics and business management, Campillo first handled environmental issues as a health official in the government of former President Ernesto Zedillo. Among his responsibilities was dealing with the notorious Met-Mex Peñoles lead contamination case in northern Mexico. (See “Mexican lead crisis prompts new rules”—EcoAméricas, July ’99.) Campillo, who has held posts in the central government, the judiciary, state-owned industries and the diplomatic corps, spoke with EcoAméricas correspondent Guillermo Escofet in Mexico City. [Log in to read more]

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