Without a majority, but the central chapter for President López Obrador of the electricity industry law, the prevalence of the CFE in the production and sale of electricity over private sector companies, was declared constitutional. If in the next few days the proposed constitutional reform for the sector does not go ahead, the costs for the government’s project of transforming the CFE back into hegemony, actually monopoly in the sector, will not be so high.
The decision of the Court was made by four votes, of which three were predictable: that of the ministers Loretta Ortiz and Yazmín Esquivel and that of the minister president, Arturo Zaldívar. Those that would be issued considering the unconstitutionality of the law as well. The vote that surprised some was that of Minister Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, who ended up supporting the constitutionality of the law in relation to the hegemony of the CFE. Minister President Zaldivar maintained that it should be the Federal Competition Commission and, in another area, SENER that should take care that the CFE does not become a monopoly, but both instances are seriously weakened and if the constitutional reform is approved, SENER would become in one more part of the Ministry of Energy. In fact, today it already is.
Some of the arguments that were presented in favor of the approved project, do not seem to have more than a political basis. For example, to maintain that giving hegemony and prevalence to the CFE, in the form in which it is stated in the law, does not violate the constitutional norm does not seem to make sense, because the letter of the constitution says otherwise. Maintain that private initiative is not affected either, because it is evident that this will be the case. It was not about making adjustments to the energy system, but about modifying it profoundly, changing the rules of the game and the players. That violates, it is assumed, legal certainty.
In political terms, it is a victory for President López Obrador and his Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López, who after the suspension of the session that was decreed last Tuesday, spent a good part of Wednesday at the headquarters of the Supreme Court lobbying with the ministers. And he got all four votes, although two of the ministers appointed this six-year term, González Alcántara and Ríos Farjat, with different tones, ended up voting against Loretta Ortiz’s project. Even in another important chapter, that of clean energy certificates and environmental issues, when Minister Ortiz Mena voted for their unconstitutionality, Minister González Alcántara voted in favor: the exchange of votes, he again left the vote 7 to 4 and therefore there is no important chapter of the law declared unconstitutional.
All of this, let’s not lose sight of it, is also related to a crucial issue for the future of many ministers: the succession of Zaldívar as head of the Supreme Court starting next January 1st. It is true that there are still months to go but the cards are already on the table. It will be difficult for any of those who fully supported the unconstitutionality of this law to be able to count on the support of the executive in the succession process. Minister Yazmín Esquivel is confirmed as the strongest candidate, while Ministers González Alcántara and Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena seek to profile themselves as having greater margins of independence. I don’t think there are any other candidates. The future of the coming months may define who will be at the head of the judiciary in January, remembering that only the ministers of the plenary participate in the election.
President López Obrador opted for absolute polarization, even with the ministers, and, for now, he carried out what is one of the decisive chapters for the 4T. It helps their cause but I doubt very much that it will help the country, its economy, investments, development, the environment, people’s quality of life. President López Obrador is betting on returning to the 1960s and yesterday he confirmed this by reading the López Mateos decree that created the CFE in the morning. The problem is that this world no longer exists.
And again Russia
Yesterday the United Nations General Assembly suspended Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council, with 93 votes in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.
The General Assembly thus expressed “its grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, in particular at reports of human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation”, including “systematic abuses” of human rights.
Mexico did not vote with the democratic nations, with our trading partners like the United States and Canada, with those of the European Union, with a good part of Latin America. The vote had already been advanced by President López Obrador who had said that Mexico would abstain because “it seeks peace.”
In reality, the abstention that neutrality becomes support for the Putin regime. In the eyes of our trading partners we have become a local version of Victor Orban, the far-right president of Hungary, the only one in the European Union who consistently abstains from sanctions against Russia. Who needs those fellow travelers?
#LIE #majority #ahead