Leftist spat stalls Mexican energy bill
A leadership spat in Mexico's left-wing opposition party could delay a
government attempt to make politically difficult changes to oil sector laws,
ruling party Senator Gustavo Madero said.
Conservative President Felipe Calderon had been awaiting the result of the
left's 16 March leadership contest before presenting an energy bill,
lawmakers say, but a row over the vote count means he is unlikely to submit
the bill this week as many expected.
"It's not very likely. It's not impossible but it's unlikely," Madero, a
member of the Senate energy committee, told Reuters.
The ruling party's lower house co-ordinator Hector Larios said the
government's reform proposal should be ready in 10 to 15 days.
The Senate energy committee has been debating for weeks about how energy laws
could be changed to help state energy monopoly Pemex shore up flagging oil
output and reserves.
Calderon had hoped to pass energy legislation before the current congressional
session ends on 30 April.
Mexico's main political parties agree Pemex needs more autonomy, but
left-wingers oppose proposals to permit private partnerships to speed up
Pemex's deep-water oil projects.
The left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, is Mexico's second
political force and the election of its new leader is seen as key to the
success of an oil bill.
The March 16 vote pits a moderate leftist willing to debate the issue in
Congress against a more radical rival seen backing protests against tweaking
barriers to private investment.
The PRD has yet to announce the final vote tally and moderate Jesus Ortega has
contested a claim of victory by Alejandro Encinas, an ally of firebrand
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is leading protests against the idea of
private oil partnerships, which he says amounts to privatisation.
Both sides have reported irregularities with voting.
"The issue of the PRD is clouding the atmosphere and the thing is to avoid
having one thing contaminate another," said Madero.
Yesterday, Encinas told Mexican radio the final vote count would prove his
victory, and Ortega said if that were so he would not call for a recount.
Both have dismissed calls for the vote to be annulled.
Sen. Ruben Camarillo, a key lawmaker for the ruling National Action Party, or
PAN, and a secretary of the Senate energy committee was quoted as saying
yesterday that PAN senators were still mulling presenting their own energy
bill.
He told the daily Reforma the bill could propose joint ventures that do not
give private partners a share in profits.
Francisco Rojas, a veteran of Mexico's third opposition party, the
Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and who is also a former Pemex
chief, told Reforma he doubted an oil reform could be passed before the end
of April.
Recent polls show half of Mexico opposes private investment in the oil sector,
expropriated in 1938, but a survey in the daily Excelsior yesterday found
62% of Mexicans believe Calderon's assurances that he will not privatise
Pemex.
25 March 2008 03:42 GMT
| last updated:
25 March 2008 03:42 GMT
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