Supreme Court Releases 2021 Energy Reform Deliberation

The Supreme Court published the stenographic version of its private deliberation on Jan. 31, in which justices discussed and annulled the 2021 reform to the Electric Power Industry Law (LIE). The Supreme Court has recently discussed eliminating private deliberations and making session information transparent.

The publication of this discussion is an isolated event. The decision to make it public the highly controversial nature of this topic. While the court struck down this reform presented by López Obrador in 2021, described as a “reversal” to the 2014 Energy Reform, the president recently announced a package of controversial reforms that include the dissolution of autonomous regulatory bodies of the market and the energy industry to give more power to CFE and PEMEX. This action has sparked more controversy in an already uncertain environment following disputes with private parties and with the United States and Canada under the USMCA.

After months of legal battles and delays, on Jan. 31, 2024, the court granted amparos to six companies, declaring the 2021 reform to the LIE unconstitutional. “Two ministers voted against and two in favor of an amparo that argued that the law had effects on the environment, violating the Constitution. Since one of the ministers who voted in favor of the amparo was the presiding minister, his casting vote broke the tie,” recounts El País. According to Reforma, the Ministry of Energy (SENER) attempted to remove Judge Javier Laynez from the case in a political strategy. Laynez abstained from voting in the end, however, to avoid conflicts of interest and allow for a faster decision.

According to Óscar Ocampo, Analyst and Researcher, Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), the resolution to annul the reform will soften tensions with the United States and Canada. López Obrador vowed to contest the Supreme Court's ruling, however. He criticized the court's decision, accusing the justices who voted against the reform of surrendering to private interests. He declared the urgent need for a judicial reform, expressing concern about the dominance of private power over public interests.

As reported by El Comentario, “the stenographic version shows the spontaneity and agility of the private sessions, which the Chambers have used for decades to be able to resolve between 30 and 50 issues per session, leaving the public part only for voting.” On Feb. 7, judges Yasmín Esquivel and Lenia Batres, asked to eliminate the private sessions of the Second Chamber, which was rejected, and announced that they will take the issue to the Plenary Court.

While the president aims to dissolve regulatory autonomous bodies, different players have stood against this proposal citing challenges toward competitiveness and a fair market environment. The Mexican Employers' Confederation (COPARMEX) scrutinized the proposed reforms by President López Obrador, urging a comprehensive discussion on pressing issues facing the nation.

The Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) and the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), bodies that face a possible solution if the president’s reforms pass, defended the existence of regulatory bodies. “In the ten years of COFECE’s work as a competition authority with constitutional autonomy, it has investigated corporate conduct in the markets that most impact households; sanctioning large companies with historic fines, as well as managers whose overpricing directly affected consumers.”