Mexicos Energy Transformation?
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- Published on Thursday, 14 February 2019 02:42
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1762 ... February 14, 2019
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Mexico’s Energy Transformation?
James Neimeister
When fuel prices shot up dramatically two years ago, ordinary Mexicans took to the streets. The gasolinazo, as the abrupt surge in prices was called, was a gut-punch to Mexicans’ strained finances, triggering blockades, occupations, and ransacking at gas stations across the country. A year and a half later, in July 2018, voters rejected the right-wing PRI and PAN parties behind Mexico’s energy reforms, electing Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a storied figure on the Mexican left.
Despite the central importance of energy policy to his election, there has been relatively little discussion of what a López Obrador government might mean in terms of climate policy. López Obrador (also known by his initials: AMLO) ran on a hodgepodge of environmental... proposals including a major reforestation project, support for renewables, and support for rural agriculture. At the same time, AMLO’s proposed "Maya Train," a high speed tourist train connecting the Yucatán beaches of Tulum and Cancún with famous ruins such as Palenque further south, has raised consternation and doubts from indigenous leaders and environmental activists who worry that the mega-project will cause further damage to protected areas along its path.
The new government’s most ambitious action to impact the climate is its crusade to bring Mexico’s national oil company, Pemex, back under public control. If successful, it would strengthen public finances, allowing the government to exercise a sovereign energy policy. While the new government seeks to expand Pemex’s production, de-privatizing Pemex may be a necessary precondition to negotiating a just transition from fossil fuels in Mexico. Oil revenues have been a singular source of income for modern Mexico, and the government will need capital to move off of fossil fuels. The government is taking steps to effectively renationalize Pemex in the interim, but it will have to contend with the country’s dependence on oil exports and its relationship with the United States in the long term. The danger remains that the government will fall into a similar trap as past progressive governments in Latin America, financing poverty reduction through intense resource extraction.
