MEXICO CITY:Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday proposed pausing diplomatic relations with Spain, turning on Mexico’s former colonial power as he sought to deflect criticism of his plan to strengthen state control of the power market.
Addressing concerns that his bill to give precedence to the state power utility, the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), over private firms was discouraging investment in renewable energy, Lopez Obrador said his proposal aimed to end abuses in the industry that he argues had benefited a select few.
Lopez Obrador says past, corrupt Mexican governments rigged the energy market in favor of private interests, and has repeatedly argued that certain Spanish companies were among those who benefited most from that policy.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry, whose visit to Mexico follows criticism by the U.S. government and businesses of Lopez Obrador’s energy plan, the Mexican president took aim at Spanish companies again.
“There was a plot at the top, an economic, political promiscuity at top of the governments of Mexico and Spain, but for like three administrations running, and Mexico had the worst of it, they plundered us. So the best thing is to have a break, a breather (in relations),” Lopez Obrador told reporters.
A spokesperson from Spain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry declined to comment.
Lopez Obrador later emphatically underlined that he was not proposing breaking diplomatic ties with Spain, which he has frequently criticized for its colonial legacy in Mexico, just as he has repeatedly pointed the finger at Spanish firms.
A leftist resource nationalist, Lopez Obrador highlighted power company Iberdrola and oil firm Repsol as Spanish companies that benefited from past Mexican governments.
Separately, U.S. envoy Kerry said his government wanted to work with Mexico to promote renewable energy, following up on Washington’s concerns over Lopez Obrador’s bill.
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