Notimex to Disappear/Government Prepares Industrial Park Tenders

Tenders for Industrial Parks. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that the Ministry of Energy is preparing a bidding process to acquire land for industrial parks. "We have 10 plots of land (across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec) for industrial parks to install assembly facilities and create jobs.” López Obrador pointed out that one of the plants that was acquired from Iberdrola is located there. 

Notimex Will disappear: AMLO. President López Obrador confirmed that his government will dissolve the state news agency Notimex.Ricardo Monreal, leader of the Morena party in the Senate, announced that the government will dissolve the state news agency Notimex, after its workers have been on strike for nearly three years.The president explained that the current government does not need a news agency given that it already has the morning press conference. Moreover, he said that the labor conflict that led to the strike was politicized. 

The Single Union of Notimex Workers (SutNotimex) reminded on Twitter that they have been on strike for 1,148 days and highlighted the López Obrador administration’s "omission" in the case.

The president pointed out that Notimex will be dissolved until an agreement is reached with the workers, however. López Obrador did not rule out the possibility of Sanjuana Martínez, Director of Notimex, joining the federal government, as he considers her "an intelligent, hardworking and good journalist".

Contracts with Repsol Were “Fraudulent” and “Onerous”: AMLO. President López Obrador detailed that contracts granted to the Spanish company Repsol for gas extraction in the Burgos Basin were "onerous" and a "complete fraud," as they were paid at high prices and yielded no results. He stated that Repsol "made a killing" for 10 or 15 years with these contracts granted by past governments. "They paid exaggerated amounts to Spanish executives, salaries in dollars, all kinds of allowances. Good deals for foreign companies and individuals, bad deals for public finances and the heritage of Mexicans. All of that is over and that is why we are rescuing PEMEX, the same with CFE," he explained.

Water Shortage in San Luis Potosi. President López Obrador stated that the water shortage problem in the metropolitan area of San Luis Potosi is not serious, guaranteeing that the population will not run out of water. At the beginning of his morning press conference and a few hours before his visit to the state, he stated that the problem is already being addressed. 

Germán Martínez, Director General, National Water Commission (CONAGUA), reported that the total water demand for the San Luis Potosi metropolitan area is 3,000L/s and that water supply is being handled through underground and surface water sources. "Regarding surface sources, the 'El Realito' dam accounts for 15% of total demand, while the San José dam contributes 250L/s, equivalent to 8.3% of the total demand. The San Luis Potosi aquifer has 130 wells capable of delivering 2,300L/s, equivalent to 77% of the total demand," he said.

Martínez detailed that El Realito currently has a storage capacity of 12.23 million m3, a figure that guarantees sufficient water for the population's supply. Moreover, with the upcoming rainy season, the dam's storage level will improve. Germán Martínez assured that the government will work on repairing the dam's leaks but affirmed that "it is not at any point in conditions of failure, from a structural point of view."