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Mexico: People say “No” to privatisation of oil

Olga Lopez

Thousands of Mexicans participated in the first stage of the all-nation referendum on the issue of privatisation of the oil branch of the country. Citizens of Mexico should have said “YES” or “NO” to the suggested by the government energy reform.

This April president of Mexico Felipe Calderon introduced a legislation of the energy reform to the parliament. According to the Constitution of Mexico all oil – prospecting, production, processing, transportation – should be controlled by the state. The legislation of Calderon suggests to open the doors for “private initiative” including a foreign one. In other words, the present Mexican government is going to privatize the state oil industry. It is exactly like this the said legislation was appraised by dozens of independent and state thinking experts.

In order to reach its goal, the potential advocates of privatization put forward a traditional “argument”: the state is unable to ensure productivity, profitability; new technologies should be attracted for production of oil in deep waters, which is impossible without private (foreign, first of all, from the USA) investors.

Ex-presidential candidate and opposition leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador immediately declared that should the parliamentarians approve the legislation of the energy reform, all the nation would stand up to defend their oil (“Mexicans got used to be proud that oil belongs to all”, western press ironically writes.)

More than 200 organisations – social, trade union, Indian, political, etc. - have formed a common resistance to anti-national energy reform front. Bitter debates were shaking the parliament during three months. Presently there is a recess in its work. When the work is resumed, the final decision should be taken.

On the threshold of new sittings the opponents of the reform decided to consult the citizens just to show to the authorities what the real opinion of the masses is.

Naturally this initiative was not welcomed on top. What are these polls? What can common people say, what do they understand in complicated issues of a “free market” economy? And generally, only advocates of the Party of the democratic revolution [Partido de la Revolucion Democratica (PRD)] and Lopez Obrador will come to vote. It is a deliberately biased undertaking! And, the government, by the way, disturbed by the protests, hurried to allocate 130 million dollars to spin their draft in mass media and criticise and trounce the opponents and their referendum.

Indeed, the first stage of the referendum took place where the left forces positions are strong – in the capital district and in 10 more states. Two questions were suggested for reply:

“Do you agree or not that private companies carried out development, production, transportation, processing and distribution of oil?”

“Do you agree or not that the Congress should approve the energy reform under discussion?”

For the present moment it is counted that 901588 citizens said “No” to the first question, “Yes” - 51726, 14543 ballot papers were annulled.

874 517 votes were given for “No” to the second question, 69 881 for “Yes”.

As international observers note, the referendum, indeed, is symbolic and its result does not bind either law-makers and government, but still the multifold gap between “Yes” and “No” cannot be ignored. Mexicans strongly step for maintaining of state ownership for oil and its processing potential.

In Venezuela oil belongs to the state, and profitability of its production and commercialization is literally going beyond the limits. Petrodollars are literally flowing into the country like a river. Who can believe the fables about absence of profitability of the branch in the epoch of high prices for hydrocarbons? And this tendency will remain for an infinitely long period. And another thing: nobody prevented the advocates of the reform to support it at the referendum. They did not sit out, they are just very few. From this point of view it will be interesting to watch the means that Calderon and his American lobby will choose to obtain “privatisation”. J. Bush administration resorted all their resources in Mexico to ensure a Pyrrhic victory to Calderon at presidential elections. Now Calderon has to work it off.