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The controversial proposal, which sought to give greater power to the Federal Electricity Commission and reduce the access of private parties to investment, did not reach the necessary vote in the plenary session of the Mexican Congress. After the impasse, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador revealed his “plan b”.
On Monday, April 18, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, described the deputies who contributed their negative votes to the legislative failure of his ambitious electricity sector reform law as “traitors”.
With 275 votes in favor, 223 against –no abstentions– and after a long debate in full Congress, on Sunday, April 17, the deputies buried what was considered one of the president’s main initiatives.
The project needed a qualified majority, that is, two thirds of the legislators present, for which at least 332 favorable votes were required, which were ultimately not reached.
“I believe that yesterday (Sunday) there was an act of betrayal of Mexico committed by a group of legislators who instead of defending the interests of the people (…) became brazen defenders of foreign companies,” AMLO said at his conference. morning press.
What did the electricity reform law consist of?
Controversial from the beginning, the initiative sought for the state Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to produce at least 54% of the country’s electricity, which left less room for private investors.
He also wanted energy regulation to pass from independent to state agencies and had a section that nationalized lithium resources. In fact, the president’s “plan b” consists of carrying out a new project that reforms the mining law in this sense.
“(…) So that we nationalize lithium and that it is only used for the benefit of national development (…) I call the legislators, now two thirds are no longer required, it is a simple majority, so that, if possible, today or tomorrow lithium will be protected,” he explained.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador always defended his reform as a way to guarantee energy independence. However, his detractors and business groups, mainly from the United States, believe that he would have violated the obligations contained in the trade agreement between both countries with Canada.
Despite the pressure and threats from those who feel they own Mexico, today there are 113 PAN federal deputies in Congress defending the future of our country.
Congratulations to all of them and thank you very much for the great work you are doing.
– Julen Rementeria (@julenrementeria) April 18, 2022
There are also those who believe that the reform, as proposed, would have raised electricity prices and delayed plans for the transition to cleaner energies because there would not be enough investment in the sector.
As a prelude to the failed reform, pro-government lawmakers have already passed a law giving the state utility company more discretion to decide who to buy electricity from, but it remains stalled by court challenges.
With EFE, AP and Reuters
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