Mezcal – agave distillate – has been consumed for centuries, but the growing demand has caused the transformation of production systems. Currently, 6.5 million liters are produced per year. It is essential to evaluate the ecological impact of expanding the agricultural frontier of maguey, especially considering the impact that maguey espadín plantations have had on ecosystems and soil loss. There are 159 species of maguey distributed in Mexico, of which 125 have the potential to make mezcal. In Oaxaca, the elaboration of mezcal involves eight species of agave and 17 wild species. Maguey espadín (Agave angustifolia Haw) is the most extensively cultivated, with an approximate surface of 18,150 hectares. The mezcal region is mainly formed in the southern Sierra Madre, with plains, hills, ravines, and low mountains with predominantly rocky soil. The climate in this mezcal region is semi-warm dry, temperate, and semi-dry with little humidity. The results indicate that the mezcal agroindustry in Oaxaca demands energy from various sources, for example, solar energy, biomass with firewood for the agave baking process and distillation, and fossil energy in agricultural machinery for raw material transport. The occupation of land for the cultivation of mezcal is 2 m/liter. This industry contributes to climate change by about 1.48 kg CO2-eq/liter of mezcal. This study identified no efforts for environmental conservation in the proper way to extract wild agaves in some regions. The increasing monoculture of Agave angustifolia Haw comes along with soil erosion.