Why Is AMLO at Odds With Mexico's Energy Regulators?
Energy Partner Carlos Ochoa featured in The Dialogue's Energy Advisor commenting on Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's proposed plan to integrate the country's independent energy, telecommunications and competition regulators into government secretariats. López Obrador has accused the agencies of engaging in illicit activity, a claim that Mr. Ochoa said remains unsupported. Mr. Ochoa further explained that the process of incorporating these independent agencies into government ministries could prove complicated, as it would necessitate legislative change and even a constitutional amendment.
"Currently, these regulators are autonomous or independent by law. Integrating them into Mexico's ministries would require legislative change and would largely subject them to this administration's agenda. Their autonomy would be legally at risk of capture," he said. "Further, the government would need a plan in order to translate the technical capabilities and professional know-how that these regulators have developed in past years, which have helped them to act as checks in their sectors against federal government action."