Research Library

Mexico’s 2013 energy reform, which opened its hydrocarbon and electricity industries to private investors, increased the autonomy and independence of its regulatory commissions. However, recent decisions by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador now threaten these institutions, writes nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein.

Using findings from Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer, the author analyzes public perceptions of anticorruption efforts during the López Obrador administration.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has pledged to end corrupt practices in Mexico. Yet some of his other goals — such as returning to a more centralized government — might actually foster corruption. Postdoctoral fellow Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez explores this situation and analyzes the relationship between democracy and corruption in Mexico.

The author analyzes the challenges Mexico’s 2013 energy reforms pose to the current administration, as well as the limitations the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement imposes on changes in Mexico’s energy policies.

By Luis Alfredo Arriola Vega The election of Mexico's Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the increase in Central American migrant caravans require reevaluating immigration policy, writes the author.

Key industry practices followed by international oil and gas companies, if adequately implemented by Pemex, may complement Mexico's energy plan to help recognize areas of opportunity for Pemex, the authors write.

The number of energy-related social conflicts in Mexico has risen dramatically over the last several years. The authors review the reasons for these conflicts and the social impact assessments that should be required for firms developing energy projects in Mexico.

The author reviews the evolution of labor and environmental rights in U.S. free trade agreements and evaluates such provisions in the USMCA.

In the near term, a ban on shale development in Mexico will have little impact since factors like limited infrastructure and access to water would likely stall progress in any case, the authors conclude. In the long-run, a ban may adversely affect efforts to diversify Mexico’s gas supply.

The author examines provisions in the USMCA for resolving investor and trade disputes among the three North American countries party to the agreement.