Dos Bocas Refinery/Grupo Mexico’s Lawsuit

Electoral Reform. President López Obrador warned that even though Congress postponed the discussion and vote on the electoral reform, it will be rejected by the opposition. However, he said that there is a plan B. “Congress has not yet cast its vote. However, it is a fact that the conservative bloc is going to vote against the constitutional reform. This bloc does not want fewer deputies or senators, it wants to continue to maintain the plurinominal seats in order to have more money for theirparties."

The electoral reform proposes to change 18 articles and insert seven transitional ones. It seeks to replace the National Electoral Institute (INE), eliminate plurinominal deputies, reduce the number of federal legislators to 300 deputies and 96 senators, while implementing electronic voting, among other changes. The president assured that if the reform was not approved, he would propose an amendment to the electoral law that does not require the approval of two-thirds of Congress.

Dos Bocas refinery. President López Obrador stressed that since the construction of the Dos Bocas refinery is taking longer than previously estimated, it could be inaugurated at the beginning of 2023. “The construction of the refinery is having last arrangements. We are confident that it will start refining fuel on schedule, but if this does not happen, it will be in the first months of next year."

The Olmeca refinery has long been promoted as the answer to Mexico’s economic woes and stands as the centerpiece of López Obrador’s plan to restore PEMEX as the lever for national development. Once complete, the refinery in the port of Dos Bocas will join the country’s six other refineries which are themselves undergoing renovation. This will increase oil-processing capacity by 20 percent with a target of 340Mb/d of heavy crude oil to be processed by the end of López Obrador’s six-year term in 2024.

Grupo México sues the government. President López Obrador highlighted that an agreement was reached with Grupo México, which sued the government for canceling a construction contract for the Mayan Train. “Suddenly I found out that Grupo México sued us. I asked the Secretary of the Interior what the problem was, and he told me that there was a dialogue with Grupo México and they had accepted an agreement.” No details of the agreement were provided, except that the Army will be in charge of deciding how much money Grupo México will receive.

The consortium comprising Grupo México and AccionaInfraestructura sued the Mexican government for MX$37.9 million (US$1.97 million) for the cancellation of the companies’ construction contract for Section 5 South of the Mayan Train. Previously, President López Obrador said that the government would seek an agreement since he admitted that the companies worked and invested in the project, and it was fair to compensate them for their efforts.