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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Leftists Take Over Mexican Congress in Energy Protest
 Jessica Bernstein-Wax - Associated Press
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| | Mexican Congress | | |
Mexico City — Leftist lawmakers took over both chambers of Mexico's Congress today to protest President Felipe Calderon's energy reform bill.
Lawmakers of the Democratic Revolution Party stormed the podiums and forced a recess in both the Senate and lower house of Congress at about 1 p.m. Some donned hard hats and shouted, "The country is not for sale!"
The takeover interrupted Senate debate on a routine measure allowing Calderon to attend a summit of North American leaders in the United States this month.
The leftist lawmakers say Calderon's energy reforms would open Mexico's national oil company to private investment and would threaten the country's sovereignty.
Calderon's bill, presented on Tuesday, would make it easier for Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, to sign contracts with outside companies, and would let it offer them bonuses for oil finds and good performance.
Calderon says Pemex needs outside help to boost sagging production. Leftists say he has been exaggerating the crisis and manipulating figures because he wants to privatize the industry, which was nationalized in 1938.
The congressional television channel showed a chaotic scene, with clusters of lawmakers gathered around the podiums shouting at each other and holding banners. |
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