This chapter analyzes the 1979 Ixtoc-I oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in a framework of extractive policies and media narratives. It examines how authorities sought to conceal that disastrous event. Using a microanalytical approach based on internal documents from Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) and regional newspapers, this study explores how the operations of oil extraction, implemented to meet international demand, prioritized economic gain over local environmental and social well-being. The spill–one of the largest in the history of the Gulf—revealed significant technological and structural deficiencies at PEMEX, which were worsened by its reliance on foreign companies. Coastal communities, particularly those dependent on fishing, suffered substantial disruptions to their livelihoods. While newspapers like the Diario de Yucatán documented the disaster in some detail, other sectors attempted to downplay its severity. The chapter shows how PEMEX and the government deployed strategies of silence and minimal remediation, while trusting in natural processes to dissolve the oil residues. Their response reflected an extractive logic that favored rapid exploitation of reserves at the expense of environmental and social responsibility. We conclude that the effects of the spill extended far beyond nearby coastal communities, revealing tensions between economic development and environmental sustainability in state-led resource management.