WRI’s EMBARQ Wins Harvard University Award for Mexico City Bus Project

World Resources Institute, 11/12/09
EMBARQ – the World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport – today receives the 2009 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership from Harvard University for its work in establishing Mexico City’s Metrobus, a sustainable transit project in one of the world’s most populated and congested cities.
“We’re honored to receive this award,” said [...]

New Analysis: Pulling the Plug on Luz y Fuerza del Centro

By Duncan Wood, Senior Associate, CSIS and Director, International Relations, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Mexico City

When President Felipe Calderón ordered public security forces to seize the offices and operations of Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) at 11pm on the 10th of October 2009, and subsequently announced the closing of the company and liquidation of its liabilities to employees, an intense national debate began over the economic and political motivations that led the executive to make this surprise move.

National Employment Service to recruit former employees from LyFC (In Spanish)

El Universal, 11/9/09
The National Employment Service, in coordination with the National Commission on Electricity (CFE), will begin a process of selection and training former employees who applied to the Mexico’s labor support unit on Monday.
According to the Department of Labor, the National Employment Service will be in charge of the recruitment and selection of [...]

Report: Reducing Emissions Growth in Emerging Economies Could Be Cheap

New York Times, 11/3/09
How much would it cost to stop increasing greenhouse gas emissions in Mexico? According to a new study from the World Bank, not very much.
The bank estimates that Mexico could flatline its emissions growth, using a variety of measures, for about $64 billion over the next 20 years — or $3 [...]

Mexico Has ‘Long Way to Go’ on Budget, Oil Reforms, Garza Says

Bloomberg, 11/2/09
Mexico has a “long way to go” in its effort to strengthen the economy by reining in its budget deficit and boosting investment in the oil industry, said Tony Garza, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
The tax increases that President Felipe Calderon pushed through congress yesterday form part of a reform plan aimed at [...]

Pemex Will Maintain Contracts Despite Constitutional Controversies (in Spanish)

El Economista, 10/30/09
Despite the constitutional controversy of Pemex’s new legal framework, approved by the Senate for some types of contracts that the state-owned company made beginning with the 2008 petroleum reform, the company will continue the signing of contracts with other companies.
Pemex director, Juan José Suárez Coppel, explained that the controversy refers to very specific [...]

Mexico Gives Preferential Tax Treatment to Mining Sector (in Spanish)

El Economista, 10/27/09
The tax treatment of the mining sector is the principle strength of Mexico to attract investment, revealed Behre Dolbear Group, a consultancy group from the United States who specializes in evaluating annually the “political risk” in 25 countries with mining sectors since 1999.
Among the 25 countries which the consultancy analyzed, Mexico led with [...]

Pemex May Win ‘Solidarity’ Discounts From Contractors

Bloomberg, 10/26/09
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) — Petroleos Mexicanos’s declining oil output and more than $10 billion of losses since 2008 may prompt Schlumberger Ltd. and Weatherford International Ltd. to accept less money for drilling contracts in Mexico, Cambridge Energy Research Associates said.
Pemex, as the Mexican state-owned oil company is known, may seek to renegotiate contracts [...]

Mexico Oil Output Slide Ending: Minister

em>Reuters, 10/21/09
A dramatic slide in Mexico’s oil production has come to an end and it can maintain output at 2.5 million barrels per day for the coming years, Energy Minister Georgina Kessel said on Tuesday.
Mexican crude output has plunged by nearly a quarter since peaking in 2004, straining public finances and spurring bond rating agencies [...]

Mass protest in Mexico against power firm closure

Associated Press, 10/16/09
At least 150,000 people protested in Mexico City against the surprise closure last weekend of a state-run electricity company, police and unions said.
Helicopters hovered above a mass of demonstrators Thursday, many clad in red, carrying Mexican flags and banners slamming President Felipe Calderon as they marched down a main axis to end up [...]