AMLO government paves the way for Pemex to have a monopoly in the gasoline market again

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  • Morena legislators approved in commissions to eliminate the asymmetric regulation of Pemex.
  • This would eliminate rules that were established after EPN’s energy reform to level the market in favor of new entrants.
  • Cofece indicated that there is still a need to maintain this regulation to avoid the imposition of anti-competitive conditions.

The energy commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved a last-minute opinion to eliminate the asymmetric regulation to which Pemex is subject. This regulation serves to counteract the dominant power of the state company in the gasoline market in Mexico.

The president of the commission, Manuel Rodríguez, from Morena, presented the initiative to modify a transitory one of the Hydrocarbons Law. The document proposed by Morena assures that the conditions have changed, so it does not make sense to maintain this regulation for the state operator.

«The aforementioned asymmetric regulation has generated greater obligations for Pemex. This in comparison with the rest of the marketing permit holders ”, according to the opinion, approved by the majority of Morena.

Cofece against anticompetitive practices in the gasoline market

However, the president of the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) spoke out against it. Alejandra Palacios expressed on Twitter that there are still some precepts that justify asymmetric regulation. The president commissioner warned that there is still the risk that a company with high participation like Pemex could exercise its power by establishing anti-competitive conditions.

The plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies still needs to vote on this opinion for it to pass to the Senate.

This latest move by Morena in Congress comes after the approval of the reform to the Hydrocarbons Law proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).

The reform opens the possibility of suspending oil permits to private sector participants due to threats to national security. AMLO is a staunch critic of EPN energy reform. Morena has taken steps to fulfill its purpose of giving Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) a leading role in their respective markets.

But his measures have generated enormous discontent among investors, many of them large Mexican companies. But also foreigners from Mexico’s commercial allied countries.

Source: reuters.com, businessinsider.mx

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