Mexican crisis: Calderon's emergency plan copies from Lopez Obrador

(post in SDP)
The proposal includes the elimination of debt from Pemex championed by AMLO

Mexico. Felipe Calderón announced yesterday evening an emergency plan to help Mexico amid world financial crisis. In a televised address to the nation, he publicly recognized for the first time that the global economic crisis would indeed have a negative effect on Mexico. In the company of the secretary of treasury Agustín Carstens, Calderón informed that Mexico faced a fall in exports, investment and remittances as a result of the US economic slowdown.

Mr. Calderon insisted that Mexico’s banks were solid despite the global economic crisis and warned and that this plan is not a financial rescue but a spending plan to strengthen the motors of the mexican economy. Nevertheless, due to its dependence on US economy, the Mexican central bank moved to auction off $2.5bn after the peso fell to a record low of 14 against the US dollar. (Oct 7th ‘08). The global crisis, specifically in the US will have repercussions in Mexico such as decline in demand for exports, less investment and significantly fewer tourists.

The emergency spending proposals include: 1) stepping up public spending, especially on infrastructure including roads, schools, houses and prisons. 2) the construction of a new oil refinery and 3) a programme of help for small and medium-sized businesses. This plan awaits the approval of the Mexican Congress.

Ironically, Calderon’s proposal includes key proposal championed since 2006 by Legitimate President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, such as the construction of an oil refinery and the cancellation of the PIDIREGAS system, which cost Mexican national oil company, Pemex, billions of dollars and kept it from being able to self-finance its own modernazation. Even more ironic is the fact that Calderon used to call Lopez Obrador “a danger to Mexico” because of proposals such as these.