LatinNews Daily - 05 August 2020 |
MEXICO: López Obrador pressures energy regulators |
On 4 August a memo sent by Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to officials in the country’s energy sector regulatory bodies, asking them to “adjust” to his government’s energy policy, became public. Analysis: The emergence of the memo has heightened concerns over López Obrador’s apparent intention to in effect revert Mexico’s 2012-2013 energy sector reform. The reform opened Mexico’s energy sector to increased private participation in a bid to attract more investment to revive a flagging industry. López Obrador is a staunch critic of the reform, which he says is not in the national interest and has been adamant that his administration’s objective is to strengthen the state-owned energy firms and protect them from private competition. The worry is that the systematic attempts to undermine the reform will discourage private investment not just in the energy sector but in Mexico in general.
Looking Ahead: In the memo López Obrador does say that regulators must act within the existing legal framework, but he does not rule out promoting new “constitutional reforms” to achieve his government’s energy policy objectives if necessary. |