Mexican president denies privatizing Pemex (Mexico's state oil company)

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Xinhua

Mexican president denies privatizing Pemex
Updated: 2013-03-18 11:08
( Xinhua)

MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Sunday rejected accusations that his government sought to privatize the state oil giant Mexican Petroleum (Pemex).

In a ceremony to commemorate Pemex's 75th anniversary, he said "neither will Pemex be sold, nor will it be privatized", adding that the company will continue to be a property of all Mexicans.

Pemex "is not on sale because it is a symbol of progress and national identity," he said.

Pena Nieto's remarks were seen as defending his administration from accusations of left-wing leaders that it planned to privatize Pemex, the only company that can carry out oil refining in Latin America's second-biggest economy.

In early March, Mexico's ruling party changed its platform to allow for private investment in the oil industry.


Read more: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-03/18/content_16316551.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Mexico's leftist opposition rallies against energy reforms

Mexico's leftist opposition rallies against energy reforms
By David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY, March 17 | Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:04pm EDT

(Reuters) - Waving party flags and shouting their support, tens of thousands of leftist party members rallied on Sunday against government plans to overhaul Mexico's energy sector, a preview of the tough road ahead for President Enrique Pena Nieto's reform push.

Organized by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, the rally took place on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the nationalization of the country's oil industry, the historical pivot that gave birth to state oil monopoly Pemex.

Speakers denounced any move to privatize the government-run oil giant, even though Pena Nieto and other members of his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, have consistently denied any plans to sell or privatize Pemex.

"We are being loyal to this historical legacy that has given our oil riches to the nation and we are going to defend it with everything we've got," said Jesus Zambrano, the PRD's national president, to rousing applause.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/mexico-energy-reform-idUSL1N0CA02Q20130318?rpc=401

[a la izquierda]

2. Good, I hope he's being honest with this.

Pemex needs an infrastructure overhaul, not privatization.