Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Sunday that his government will seek to protect and strengthen the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), without creating an energy monopoly, to the detriment of private investment.
In Manzanillo, Colima, López Obrador accused previous governments having a plan, which remained “trunco”, that the CFE would stop producing energy, and domestic and foreign companies managed up to 80% of the electricity sector.
“That’s already stopped, ” he said. Currently, the president added, the CFE has 56% of the electricity market and private people handle 44%. At the end of his rule, he mentioned, at the very least it will seek to maintain that level.
“This is not monopoly, that is to protect a strategic company,” he said, in addition to mentioning that there will be “even floor” in competition with individuals in electricity generation and distribution.
López Obrador insisted that his government will continue to invest in increasing the CFE’s electricity generation, without betting on privatization, and without increasing the price of light for Mexicans.
At the event in Colima, the president was accompanied by the head of the CFE, Manuel Bartlett, still in the midst of the controversy after the Civil Service exonerated him of some kind of irregularity in his declaration of property.
Last Friday, López Obrador ruled out a reform to the Constitution to reverse the so-called Energy Reform.
“We are simply going to have even flooring, because the Federal Electricity Commission was not being given adequate attention… private and public sector participation without the ECF disappearing or the market ceases to participate,” he said.
“Realistically, we could not go back to the previous situation, when only the federal commission produced electricity. It would take a lot of public investment and there are no conditions, because they left us a huge public debt,” he added.
What we do in Animal Político requires professional journalists, teamwork, dialogue with readers and something very important: independence. You can help us keep going. Be part of the team.
Subscribe to Animal Politician, receive benefits and support free journalism.
#YoSoyAnimal
