Latin American Economy & Business - September 2017 (ISSN 1741-7430)

Pemex denies Odebrecht bribes: In Mexico, former Pemex chief executive Emilio Lozoya denied taking bribery payments from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and channelling them President Enrique Peña Nieto’s 2012 election campaign. The claims were made by the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, citing Odebrecht executive Alberto de Meneses Weyll, who said the company had paid Lozoya US$10m in bribes to secure a US$115m contract for work at the Tula refinery. Lozoya, who left Pemex in 2016 said he “categorically denied” the claims; they were also rejected by Eduardo Sánchez, chief spokesman for President Peña Nieto.