Mexico's Congress has approved an energy reform which the Government hopes will allow multimillion dollar investments from both private investors and foreign comapnies, the biggest development in the sector in seventy years. The project, which will be spread to state-level congresses for approval includes constitutional ammendments. The changes were approved by 353 votes to 134 late on Wednesday night. Cheers of 'Mexico! Mexico' were met with cries of 'Traitors! Traitors!' by those who opposed the vote - one of whom even took off his clothes in protest.
Enrique Peña Nieto's government is hoping that this reform will elevatae production of oil and gas, allowing the country to reduce energy costs. However, critics of the reform argue that the changes will compromise the autonomy of the country. The project is the centrepoint of a number of structural reforms with which the Mexican President is hoping to give a boost to the previously slumping Mexican economy. The reform was designed by the Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI).
The new reforms ends years of monopolization by Mexico's publicly-owned gas company, Pemex. The PRI is hoping for huge private investments to lead to economic growth in both the energy sector and the country's economy at large. Mexico is one of the top ten crude oil producers in the world.
However, analysts are suggesting that it will probably take years before investments materialize and show significant changes to the country's economy. Moreover, left-wing critics argue that the move is giving over Mexico's rich resources to foreign hands, job losses in Pemex and destabilizing of gas, petrol and diesel industries.
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