President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday denounced a “betrayal of Mexico” after lawmakers the previous day rejected his flagship constitutional reform project aimed at strengthening the public sector in electricity generation, a measure proposed by the United States has been denounced.
The nationalist left-wing president castigated opposition MPs who rather than defending the interests of the people, of the nation, have become outspoken defenders of foreign companies.
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Despite poaching attempts, his Morena party (Movement for National Renewal) and its allies failed to secure a qualified two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies, in which three main opposition parties joined and voted against. The threshold was 332 votes for 498 present (out of a total of 500). After more than 12 hours of heated debate and insults, 275 MPs voted in favor and 223 against this draft reform of three constitutional articles (25, 27 and 28) on “ownership of land and water” and the ban on monopoly.
The President had raised the issue of reforming the electricity market to foreign, American and Spanish companies in the rank of national sovereignty issues. His project planned to go back to the liberalization approved in 2013, guaranteeing the public company Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) 54% of the market over the private sector, up from 38% currently.
“Endless Quarrels”
The US denounces a risk for the billions of dollars in private investments by American companies in Mexico.
The US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, had estimated that approval of the reform under the Mexico-US-Canada free trade agreement could lead to “endless bickering”. Spain also fears the consequences for its private companies like Iberdrola. The Business Coordination Council (CCE, a private sector advocacy group) on Monday commended “the responsibility that lawmakers have shown”.