|
|
|
 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Mexico Lawmakers Vow to Keep Up Protest
 Jessica Bernstein-Wax, Associated Press
go to original
| | Opposition lawmakers, who stormed the podium of the National Congress and covered it with a huge banner, wave Mexican flags in Mexico City, Thursday, April 10, 2008. Leftist lawmakers took over both chambers of Mexico's Congress to protest President Felipe Calderon's energy reform bill. (AP /Jorge Rios) | | |
Mexico City - Leftist lawmakers who seized both chambers of Mexico's Congress said Friday they will not move until winning a national debate on an oil reform bill backed by President Felipe Calderon.
Legislators from the Democratic Revolution Party and two minor parties stormed the podiums of both the Senate and the lower house of Congress on Thursday to protest the bill, which they say would open the door to selling off parts of the state-run industry.
A small group of lawmakers spent the night there in blankets and sleeping bags and took turns guarding the podiums, which were draped in signs accusing Calderon of trying to privatize the industry. Mexico's oil reserves were nationalized in 1938.
"We're going to stay here as long as we need to," Democratic Revolution Rep. Alejandra Sanchez said in a telephone interview Friday. She added that party members were bringing sandwiches and drinks to prepare for what could be a long encampment.
Sanchez said her party wants the public to debate the issue before Congress takes it up. It was unclear whether that would mean a referendum, a national survey or something else. Calderon's National Action Party is pushing for Congress to vote on the bill within two weeks.
Presenting the bill with a nationally televised speech on Tuesday, the president stressed that state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, would remain in Mexican hands. Calderon wants to relax some restrictions to let the company seek outside help to boost sagging oil production.
The measure would let Pemex offer companies bonuses for oil finds and good performance. It would also let the company — which now depends on U.S. refineries to convert much of its crude into gasoline — hire outsiders to build and operate new refineries for Mexico.
Opponents say it would leave Pemex — a source of national pride and much of the national budget — in the hands of private and even foreign investors.
"They've sharpened their teeth and are ready to rob a natural resource and make a big business out of it," Sanchez said. "We're not going to let them."
Some lawmakers said the protests could backfire.
"Congress is a place to discuss and debate ideas," said Salvador Barajas of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, whose votes are key to passing Calderon's measure. The takeover "complicates and delays not only the energy reform but also the nation's progress."
The showdown marks the third time Mexico's congressional chambers have been taken over by lawmakers allied with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador since he was declared the loser to Calderon in the tight 2006 election. Lopez Obrador's backers have refused to accept the loss, and he has been crusading against any relaxation on major private investment in petroleum. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us