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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2008 
Mexico's Ruling Party Delays Proposal for Energy Bill
 Adriana Lopez Caraveo & Jens Erik Gould - Bloomberg
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Mexican President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party delayed plans to unveil a bill that would open up the state oil industry to private or foreign investment.
Hector Larios, leader of the party in the lower house of Congress, said today that the party will present an energy bill in 10 to 15 days, and hasn't yet determined whether the government or lawmakers will make the proposal.
The reform proposal had been planned for release by the end of March. The delay has allowed opposition leaders, led by former presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, more time to criticize the government's plan by calling it a sale of the nation's oil riches.
"There is a threat from Lopez Obrador," Larios said. He didn't provide an explanation for the delay.
Calderon, a former energy minister, has called for state- owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, to partner with foreign companies on deepwater exploration projects. Such cooperation is needed to stem declines in output and reserves, according to Calderon.
The Mexican constitution reserves oil to the government, banning any outside investment in exploration or production. The country's largest opposition party, the Party of the Democratic Revolution, is campaigning to block Calderon's efforts to loosen the government's oil monopoly.
To contact the reporters on this story: Adriana Lopez Caraveo in Mexico City at adrianalopez(at)bloomberg.net; Jens Erik Gould in Los Angeles at jgould9(at)bloomberg.net |
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