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Claudia Sheinbaum: Mexico’s Energy Policy

Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum supports the current state-led approach to Mexico‘s energy policy.This energy policy pushes for the strengthening of Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).While Pemex and CFE compete in a free market, they are state-owned productive enterprises and receive state support.On the one hand, Pemex is the country’s main oil company; on the other, the CFE is the largest electric power company in Mexico.The strength of both companies has been a priority of Mexico’s current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).Pemex is the most indebted oil company in the world.But unlike AMLO, Sheinbaum has stated that she will push for more private investment in renewable energy.

Claudia Sheinbaum

After governing Mexico City from 2018 to 2022, Claudia Sheinbaum has led the polls in the current presidential campaign.She is the candidate of the coalition led by MORENA, the same party of López Obrador.This coalition also includes the Partido del Trabajo (PT) and the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM). Without a doubt and if she wins, she said that she will propose the continuity of the current head of the SHCP, Rogelio Ramírez de la O.This Tuesday, Ramírez de la O declared that the restructuring of Pemex’s debt «will take years».«This restructuring, this six-year process, has taught us a lot about what is a priority for the next stage, which is the need to focus more on the refinancing of Pemex’s debt, involving the sovereign debtor more directly,» he added.Under Mexico’s National Development Plan, the government intends to provide resources to the CFE to modernize its infrastructure and alleviate certain tax burdens. The new energy policies will encourage Mexico’s population to incorporate renewable energy sources into electricity production, which is expected to improve access to electricity for approximately 2 million people living in small, isolated communities that still lack access.Should she win, Claudia Sheinbaum would become Mexico’s first female president in history.She also has a scientific educational background, which may make some difference in the policies followed by AMLO.

 

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