No Profit for CFE from Electric Reform/Lozoya Photo

Electricity reform. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the importance of his proposed electricity reform is partly to prevent companies in the field from taking over the entire market and raising electricity prices to greatly higher levels. “Large corporations pay very little for electricity; more than 40 million users pay more than those who have large corporations, shopping centers, those who use light for commercial purposes. Those who have one or two light bulbs have to pay proportionally more.” He said that with the reform, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) would not focus on profits but that there are companies that do “and if we don’t do the reform, what has happened in Spain would happen to us:  electricity rates would go through the roof.”

Biden responds. US President Joe Biden responded to the letter that López Obrador sent him regarding the causes of the migration issue in Central America and the need to implement social programs in that region. He noted that he had requested a larger budget to allocate to development and to prevent people from having to leave their homes. In his response, Biden recognized the efforts made by the Mexican government in the implementation of the social programs Young Building the Future and Sowing Life and how those programs have benefited citizens. He highlighted that his administration is also implementing conditional cash transfer programs in the region. López Obrador added that, “we are stronger when we work together and I look forward to our joint efforts to come.”

Emilio Lozoya. López Obrador commented on the photos that were published on social media yesterday of the former director of PEMEX, Emilio Lozoya, eating in a luxury restaurant in Mexico City. “I think it is legal but it is immoral for these things to occur. It is reckless, to say the least, an act of provocation, because that man was a director of PEMEX and is a protected witness, even if they call him something else,” López Obrador said.

Lozoya was extradited from Spain in February last year to face charges of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The investigation, however, has made little headway since then despite the government’s insistence that there will be no impunity in the country regarding corruption and Lozoya remains free, having only had his passport taken away. He must also wear a tracking bracelet.

ONU speech. López Obrador announced that he would visit the United Nations (UN in New York City to talk about corruption, which he called one of the world’s main problems. In January, Mexico joined the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2021-2022 biennium.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish