By RICARDO CASTILLO

No Changes in Energy Laws

After U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau, echoing both U.S. and European energy investors, voiced concern over changes in Mexican energy regulations, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) denied that there had been any changes and vowed to respect all contracts from the previous administration.

Landau also said that this was “not a good moment to invest in Mexico.”

“We’re not breaking any legal ordinance, we’re just straightening up the energy sector because we feel there were excesses, a lot of corruption in the energy sector,” AMLO said on Saturday, June 27, at a press conference in the state of Michoacán.

“Foreign and national companies made some pretty juicy business deals under the protection of the public power as connivance and complicity law, as happened in cases such as Odebrecht and the useless fertilizer plant that the government bought at inflated prices,” he said.

AMLO also denied that he planned to nationalize the mining industry.

“We are only revising contracts and concessions,” he said.

AMLO said that companies in disagreement with the contract revisions and changes “have the right to express their point of view but we will not allow that to affect the Treasury Secretariat nor the citizenry, as happened in the past.”

The Mexican president added that “we are open to dialogue with unhappy companies that used to operate under highly favorable conditions at a cost to the nation.”

“That is why we are defending what we consider fair,” he said.

Court Admits Controversy

A constitutional controversy suit presented by Chamber of Deputies President Laura Rojas was admitted for discussion by the nation’s Supreme Court on Friday, June 26.

The filing challenges an executive order issued in 2019 by AMLO that gives the president the right to use the armed forces on public security missions.

The admission does not mean it proceeds, as the issue has to be prepared for discussion between the judges by Judge Margarita Ríos Farjat.

The complain does not represent the sentiment of the entire Chamber of Deputies, but rather only the National Action Party (PAN) faction. of which Rojas is a member.

The National Regeneration Movement (Morena) did not approve of the challenge, but as Chamber of Deputies president, Rojas has the right to present constitutional challenges.

Toluca on Red Alert

While Mexico City continues with plans this coming week to transition to orange on Mexico’s covid-19 traffic light, the State of Mexico (Edoméx), which surrounds most of the city, has opted to stay on red alert for one more week.

State of Mexico Governor Alfredo del Mazo announced on Friday, June 26, that the pandemic has stabilized in the Valley of Mexico, but in the mountains surrounding Toluca Valley, contagion as well as hospital internments, are still on the rise.

The lockdown is to continue until further notice.

No Private Investment at NAIM

The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) issued a rebuttal to a newspaper article carried by Mexico City and Monterrey newspapers Reforma and El Norte, respectively, which is headlined as “What They Let Go … Foreign Investment the 4T Has Despised.”

The article claimed the nation lost $13 billion by not building the now-defunct New Mexico City International Airport project (NAIM).

The SCT said, “This is absolutely false since in all the commitments that were signed to carry out the project and the construction of the NAIM, the resourced used were strictly from public funds.”

In a press release, the SCT said that “the investment originally was estimated at $13 billion, but the Project Management Office informed the cost was to be raised to $16 billion.”

The Mexican government provided via yearly budget reports, between the years 2014 and 2018, approximately $1.1 billion, said the SCT rebuttal.

“And as it is widely known, there was a $6 billion financing through the issue of government bonds,” it continued.

“The bonds issue must not be confused with private investment.”

Therefore, it concluded, “the SCT categorically denies the veracity of the publication and categorically affirms that there was not a single cent of foreign or national private investment involved. There was only public investment in the process of planning, construction and cancellation.”

Cartel Hitmen to Southern Prison

The 17 men and 2 women arrested on Friday, June 26, following the failed attempted murder of Mexico City Police Chief Omar García Harfuch were transferred to the Southern Prison and Santa Marta Acatitla jail, respectively.

The prisoners were taken from the Mexico City Fiscal General Detention Center in the Azcapotzalco municipality, just north of the city, guarded by 200 heavily armed police officers at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 28.

Sports: Scorpion KOs the Log

The outcome of the fight was foreseeable. but since there’s nothing written in boxing until after a bout, it came as no surprise to have super featherweight World Boxing Council champion Miguel “Alacrán” (“Scorpion”) Burchelt KO’d in six rounds Elazar “El Tronco” (“The Log”) Valenzuela in the main event of TVAzteca’s aired live boxing match on Saturday, June 27.

To tell the truth, it was a mismatch.

During the sixth round, referee Cesar Castañón stopped the carnage.

The full card was made up of five fights, but TVAzteca only aired two of them.

In the opening of the broadcast, WBC super lightweight youth champion, Omar “El Pollo” Aguilar outpunched Dante “Crazy” Jardón, and referee Castañón stopped the bout 55 seconds into the first round.

It was another mismatch, but for fans it was, what the heck, it is live boxing even if it does not have the quality TVAzteca viewers are used to.

…June 29, 2020