Sunday, November 18, 2007

Zocalo update II

Addressing a gathering described as consisting of "tens of thousands" of people, Lopez Obrador said he would organize non-violent civil disobedience to stop privatization of the petroleum industry.

It is not clear to me how much privatization is proposed or even likely--A lot of Mexicans who want nothing to do with AMLO or his party might strongly oppose privatization of oil. Its nationalization in the 30s is considered a hallmark achievement of the revolution.

Of course, Mexico's national oil company (PEMEX) needs capital. If that capital comes from other countries, multinational energy companies, etc., it will involve conditions--share of profits--that some would call "privatization."

Any thoughts?

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