Ex-president of Brazil Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, appearing in Acapulco for the 74 Banking Convention, said that Mexico should not fear associations with private capital in its energy sector. Lula also notably offered an "alliance" between the two state-owned oil companies.
Mexican politicians would be wise to listen to Lula; in Brazil, the state still has a majority share of PETROBRAS, yet thanks to continuous expansion, after attracting foreign and national private capital and technical know-how, this company is among the most dynamic, profitable, and forward-looking in the world.
Even more important: The growth of PETROBRAS has allowed the Brazilian government to drastically up its spending on social and anti-poverty programs.
I would never expect Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his followers to accept as much as a cent of private capital in the Mexican PEMEX, yet perhaps some of the less dogmatic people in PRD and PRI will take note of Lula's call.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Mexico State PRD branch votes - again - in favor of PAN alliance, but it is a swan song
The Mexico State branch of the PRD, following the recent referendum over a PRD-PAN alliance, voted again in favor of them. The vote, in the PRD's state council, was 158-92, with 12 abstentions.
While the PRD state branch does not need a 2/3 vote, the national party branch does, and the pro-alliance forces look increasingly unlikely to achieve that number. Consequently, the PRD-PAN alliance by now appears a lost cause, in the long run due to the incessant and effective opposition by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but more immediately due to the apparent abandonment by Marcelo Ebrard of the project.
Despite having been a long-time active proponent of PRD-PAN alliances, Ebrard has recently rallied behind the man he thought might be convinced into running on a joint PRD-PAN platform - Alejandro Encinas - but his rejection of this proposal effectively leaves a common candidacy dead.
While the PRD state branch does not need a 2/3 vote, the national party branch does, and the pro-alliance forces look increasingly unlikely to achieve that number. Consequently, the PRD-PAN alliance by now appears a lost cause, in the long run due to the incessant and effective opposition by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but more immediately due to the apparent abandonment by Marcelo Ebrard of the project.
Despite having been a long-time active proponent of PRD-PAN alliances, Ebrard has recently rallied behind the man he thought might be convinced into running on a joint PRD-PAN platform - Alejandro Encinas - but his rejection of this proposal effectively leaves a common candidacy dead.
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