ABSTRACT

This chapter describes a general analysis is made of the basic considerations that led the Mexican government to decide to install the first nuclear power plant in Mexico, as well as the problems that arose during its construction and the results achieved to date. In 1966, the Mexican Federal Commission of Electricity decided to enter the field of nuclear power and carried out superficial economic analyses that suggested that the nuclear power option would be competitive with other sources of electricity. In Mexico, one of the factors that greatly influenced the decision to build a nuclear power plant was the participation of famous Mexican nuclear experts in the international meetings organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Politically, the very structure and modus operandi of Mexico's political systems has had a direct impact on Laguna Verde's development. The fundamental criteria and considerations that warranted the installation of the first nuclear power plant in Mexico have been invalidated by experience.