Seeking to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship.
7/10/19 – Associated Press News
The Mexican government says a natural gas plant and a wind farm to produce electricity will be the first two projects under a U.S. development program to improve the economy of Mexico’s poor south as a way to discourage migration.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that $500 million of U.S. aid will go to the building of a wind power plant and a liquefaction plant for natural gas. Officials did not say where the projects would be.
6/25/19 – New York Times
By Rebekah F. Ward
Mexico’s oil regulator on Tuesday approved a $97 million (£76.4 million) plan for drilling in an offshore area operated by British supermajor BP in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
The four-year exploration plan approved by the national hydrocarbons commission (CNH) covers a 700,000 square kilometre shallow water block, located north of the coast of Tabasco state.
5/27/2019 – Reuters
By Anthony Esposito
Mexico’s Finance Ministry said on Monday it had blocked the bank accounts of the former chief executive of state oil firm Pemex, one of ex-President Enrique Pena Nieto’s closest advisers, for allegedly carrying out “illegal” financial operations.
5/23/2019 – Associated Press
The head of Mexico’s financial intelligence unit says that a former executive at the state-owned oil company who was sanctioned this week by the comptroller’s office is Pemex’s former director Emilio Lozoya.
5/16/2019 – Bloomberg
By Amy Stillman
Mexico’s state oil company is set to receive added tax breaks to help reverse long-term production declines and avoid tapping the nation’s rainy day fund, according to its chief executive officer. The country’s Finance Ministry is opting for a new tax strategy for Petroleos Mexicanos starting next year that will provide an “important reduction” in the company’s contributions, Octavio Romero said in an interview, declining to give an estimate for the savings. The gradual cuts, to be spread over five years, would complement incremental tax breaks announced in February that were worth 90 billion pesos ($4.72 billion) over six years. He said the new tax regime will be announced in “the coming days” and it will be used instead of using about $7 billion from the Oil Revenue Stabilization Fund, known as FEIP, which had been previously proposed by the Ministry.
5/15/2019 – Quartz
By Zoe Schlanger
Dozens of wildfires have broken out in Mexico over the past week, sending plumes of smoke drifting far beyond the burn sites to blanket population centers, including Mexico City, home to 21 million people. Officials in Mexico City have declared a state of emergency and are urging people to stay indoors, as pollution levels soar far above what’s considered healthy for human exposure. Concentrations of PM2.5—tiny particulate matter produced during any combustion, like burning trees and plants during fires—reached 158 micrograms per cubic meter yesterday.
5/13/2019 – Reuters
By David Alire Garcia and Adriana Barrera
MEXICO CITY, May 13 (Reuters) – The Mexican government announced measures intended to help state oil company Pemex with its debt obligations, including renewal of credit lines with JP Morgan, HSBC and Mizuho, as well as a gradual tax reduction for the firm, officials said on Monday.
