Thus, this series will have several chapters. First, the political discourse will dominate and the calls to defend the homeland will multiply. Later, away from the spotlight, the representatives of the Mexican government will look for a way to reconcile with their US and Canadian counterparts so as not to escalate the trade dispute any further. At the same time, investments mainly in the electricity sector will remain on edge.
The action taken by the United States government around the energy market in North America has provoked endless emotions in the business community based in Mexico. On the one hand, it leaves a certain feeling of victory because it means support for the positions already known by various players in the sector who warned of the change in rules. However, there is also unease as some companies quietly accuse that the campaign of persecution against them continues.
Undoubtedly, the first reactions of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are angry and worrying, since they leave the feeling that the Mexican government, or its most influential member, is not dimensioning the great problem in which it would put the country, but above all the implications that their decisions would have on the economy and in business.
For now, no player in the electricity sector, national or foreign, will make any public pronouncement. Foreign investment in this area does not have, at the moment, any incentive to multiply. The business representations will leave the fate of the investments in the hands of the US and Canadian authorities; also, they bet that the lawsuit ends in the coming weeks in holy peace.
The political game, under the glass of the private sector, is thought of in some way like this: if the president’s ear lets go of the positions of the director general of the CFE, Manuel Bartlett, and the secretary of Energy, Rocío Nahle, the battle is lost and the deterioration of the electricity market will intensify; but, if he masters the technique and the knowledge of the experts from the Ministry of Economy, the outcome might not be so bitter.
It is known that in the Ministry of Economy there are personnel who are aware of the difficulties in mounting the State’s defense against this case; in the private sector there is confidence in Tatiana Clouthier’s team, made up of people with experience and a lot of international contact who know what we are involved in, but it is also evident that there is a line that comes from the National Palace that can disdain the technique and give turn to ideology.
Intense weeks are coming. According to a route drawn up by the IMCO, from the controversy presented (July 20) there must be 30 days to request consultations and then 45 days to carry them out (August 19 as the deadline). Until now there is no history of a single case that has been resolved in that first instance; certainly, due to the implications of the case, a settlement should not be ruled out but, outside of Las Vegas, it is not advisable to contribute for it.