Mexico: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Slams Opposition Legislators After Electricity Reform Fails to Pass in Congress

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO, on Monday hit back on the legislators whodid not support the electricity reforms on Sunday.

According to Al Jazeera, the said bill was the center of the country's diplomatic tensions with the United States.

"I believe that yesterday was an act of treason against Mexico committed by a group of legislators who, instead of defending the interests of the people ... became outright defenders of foreign companies," AMLO underscored on Monday.

Lopez Obrador also claimed that foreign firms bought the legislators who voted against the electricity reform bill, per Associated Press.

Ana Vanessa Cardenas Zanatta, political science from the Monterrey Technological and Anahuac Universities, told AP on Monday that the electricity reform's loss in Congress was the first legislative setback Lopez Obrador experienced since he was mounted as Mexico's president in late 2018,

"Today he couldn't hide the fact that he was very angry," Cardenas Zanatta said.

The political science professor also said that the Mexican president has pushed the projects despite warnings from the U.S.

Mexico Electricity Reform Fails in Congress

BBC shared that the 12-hour session was filled with opponents and supporters of the bill trading insults, and tempers were running high.

AP noted that the lower house of Congress voted 275 to 233 in favor of the measure.

However, the vote count fell short of 322 votes needed for constitutional changes. Reports noted that the threshold placed for the bill to move on from Congress is at least two-thirds of the majority.

If Mexico's electricity reform was passed, the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission would have at least 54 percent of the electricity market. Meanwhile, private and foreign companies that built wind and gas-fired generating plants will be allowed to keep up to 46 percent, per AP.

The government claimed that the said move is needed to address the soaring power prices.

Lopez Obrador lobbied hard for the electricity reform, per BBC.

The president argued that the liberalization of the electricity sector carried out by Mexico's previous government should be reversed because it increased the share of the country's energy produced by private companies. BBC shared that Lopez Obrador sees that as a "dangerous" dependency on private and foreign companies.

Critics of Mexico's Electricity Reform

The United States and Canada were alarmed by the electricity reform pushed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, claiming that the measure would put Mexico in danger of violating its trade commitments by favoring state-run entities that are reliant on fossil fuels, Al Jazeera reported.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai previously claimed that the energy policies of Mexico will damage the environment, as well as U.S. business and investor interests in multiple sectors. Tai added that the measure would also hamper the joint efforts in mitigating climate change.

Critics also claimed that the electricity reform would also hurt investors and their confidence in Mexico.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Mexico's Chamber of Deputies Rejects Electricity Reform - From TeleSUR English