Not All Legislators Are Against the Energy Reform: AMLO

President López Obrador assured that not all legislators from the opposition are against the new constitutional energy reform, so it could still be approved in Congress. In addition, he once again called on legislators to vote freely and on opposition parties to not manipulate their members.

Yesterday, the ‘Go for Mexico’ coalition, the main opposition to the current government, consisting of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), announced that it will reject López Obrador's energy reform proposal, which seeks to guarantee the country's energy security and control costs by handing over 56 percent of the country's energy market to CFE. However, the opposition deems the reform to be destructive, regressive against private competition and polluting. In addition, opposition parties announced they will propose a new reform that would strengthen CFE but also benefit renewable energy generation in the country.

After the announcement, López Obrador assured that not all legislators agree with the coalition’s proposal, as this would benefit private companies over national ones. As a result, the president said he expects some members of opposition parties will vote in favor of the reform.

“I have information that PRI and PAN legislators do not agree to vote against our reform since this would benefit private companies. I trust that they will vote in favor of the reform because they want the best for Mexicans. I ask legislators to rebel and be authentic representatives and not only employees of opposition groups," López Obrador said during his morning conference.

Ignacio Mier, Coordinator, MORENA, stressed that the reform debate is in its initial stage. Therefore, it would not be a surprise to see differing votes within opposition groups. In addition, Mier assured that MORENA will continue working to convince opposition groups of the need to approve the reform.

Recently, MORENA announced that it is open to making some changes to its reform so opposition groups vote in favor. Currently, MORENA needs 57 votes for the reform to pas from Parliament to Senate, with the former vote likely occurring next week. The current legislative period ends on April 30. However, MORENA wants to ensure the approval of the reform in both chambers before the term ends. Nevertheless, as the strongest opposition groups have publicly declared themselves against the reform, experts believe that it will be difficult for the reform to be approved without confronting issues.