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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 19 april 2022

Mexican leader fails to pass limits on foreign energy firms

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- "Today he couldn't hide the would "nationalize lithium."
can President Andrés Man- fact that he was very an- Only one lithium mine in
uel López Obrador failed to gry," said Cárdenas Zanat- Mexico, operated by a
find enough votes late Sun- ta, noting he had contin- Chinese firm, is anywhere
day to pass a constitutional ued pushing the project near close to starting pro-
reform limiting private and despite warnings from the duction. That would pre-
foreign firms in the electri- U.S. government. sumably be taken over by
cal power industry, mark- "Yesterday a group of leg- the government if the bill
ing the first major legislative islators committed an act passes on a simple major-
setback for the president. of treason," López Obrador ity.
The defeat may set the said Monday. "Instead of The electricity reform
tone for an angrier, more defending the interests of sought to limit foreign-built
hard-line and polarizing the nation, of the people, renewable energy plants
president in the last 2 1/2 they openly defended and guarantee at least
years of his administration. foreign firms that rob and 54% of electricity would be
No longer able to ride on prey." bought from government-
a legislative super-majority Alejandro Moreno, the owned generating plants,
as he did in the first half of leader of the old ruling Insti- which are dirtier. Private A worker works among the Solar Panels installed by Pireos
his term, López Obrador tutional Revolutionary Par- and foreign companies, Power on the roof of a warehouse in the State of Mexico on
may now resort to harsher ty, shot back "they are the which have built wind Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Associated Press
attacks on opponents and traitors, and they haven't and gas-fired generating
regulatory bodies like the solved the crime prob- plants, would have been ization in Mexico. wind up fighting," Crespo
courts and electoral au- lem and have left women allowed to keep up to 46% "Now, families and couples said. "I have never seen this
thorities. abandoned," referring of the market. are divided, I have friends I level of polarization, above
The reforms that failed to to increasing homicides Critics said the reform no longer see, good friends, all, one that is promoted
pass Sunday would have against women in Mexico. would hurt investors and because we are going to from the top."q
undone much of the mar- Political analyst José Anto- their confidence in Mexico.
ket opening in power nio Crespo said López Ob- The companies could have
generation carried out by rador was a victim of his sought court injunctions,
his predecessor in 2013, own refusal to negotiate and the U.S. government
but also raised concerns any of his proposals, prefer- could have complained
among U.S. officials and ring instead to divide the under a free trade agree-
companies, who worried country into camps of "trai- ment and then put com-
they would violate trade tors" and patriots. pensatory tariffs on Mexi-
pacts and guarantees for "For him, sitting down to ne- can products.
foreign investors. gotiate with the opposition Pro-government legisla-
On Monday, López Obra- is betraying the cause, be- tors have already passed
dor called the opposition cause he is used to doing a law giving the state utility
members of congress who things the way he says they more discretion in deciding
voted against the reform should be done, or not at whose electricity to buy,
traitors, claiming foreign all," Crespo said. "I think this but it remains stalled by
firms "bought the legisla- is going to hurt him in the court challenges.
tors." second half of his term, be- The debate Sunday began
The lower house of Con- cause he no longer has the with nearly all 500 deputies
gress voted 275 to 223 in fa- majority to do his bidding." present. The ruling party
vor of the measure, which "I think the final half of this and its allies needed a two-
would have given more administration is going to thirds majority to pass the
power to the state-owned be very tough, very tense, constitutional reform.
power company, but that forced, very risky," Crespo Some pro-government leg-
was well short of the 332 said. islators chanted ''Traitors" at
votes needed for constitu- López Obrador has vowed the opposition, which ob-
tional changes. to submit separately a bill jects to the reform. Opposi-
Ana Vanessa Cárdenas that would nationalize the tion lawmakers shouted: ''It
Zanatta, a political science mining of lithium, which won't happen."
professor at the Monterrey was part of the reform bill Given the atmosphere,
Technological and Ana- that failed Sunday. López Obrador's Morena
huac universities, said the The bill submitted for de- party failed to win over
vote marked the first legis- bate Monday would cre- any significant number of
lative setback López Obra- ate a state-owned compa- opposition legislators. The
dor has suffered since tak- ny for lithium mining, some- vote appeared to promise
ing office in late 2018. thing López Obrador said 2 1/2 more years of polar-