The same applies to the subsidy for Pemex’s losses, without a corporate restructuring plan, but with bets beyond all financial and energy logic, such as that made in refining, whose red numbers are among the worst in the company. Or the effort to return to the CFE’s electricity monopoly with more subsidies for obsolescence and forcing the divestment of private companies that were building generation capacity, we have to ensure, in accordance with the conditions of the energy transition and our climate responsibilities, and with capital fresh that our government does not have, as is evident when even the trusts that were available for emergencies are spent.
Among other reasons, economists ask countries for more public investment because it tends to have a multiplier effect on private investment, which today, in Mexico, is at levels that are historically low: 17% as a percentage of GDP, when it should be around 20 %. But how could this effect occur if none of the great projects of our government really have a profitability perspective and there is even doubt that they will ever come to fruition. Worse, if, instead of encouraging or synergizing with private investment, they inhibit or exclude it on principle. The increase for 2022 doesn’t look so good anymore.
Basically, investing is sacrificing current spending or risking capital in exchange for increasing productivity or performance and then having greater spending capacity. Is that related to what is being done at Pemex? If it is argued that everything is for sovereignty and self-sufficiency, and what looms, as a result, is more energy precariousness, dependence and lag, the qualification of spending, and not investment, comes in as a tailored suit.
According to the budget project, in 2022 Pemex will be able to borrow up to over 118,000 million dollars, with the financial cost rising due to the downgrading of the credit rating. Between capitalizations, tax reductions and debt payments, since 2019 more than 39 thousand 700 million have been transferred to it, but production has not grown even 3%.
More than investment, we could talk about artificial respiration to continue throwing good money to bad. The contradictions of the Dos Bocas refinery “investment” and the acquisition of 100% of the Deer Park refinery when its losses soar are the perfect example of nonsense.