MEXICO CITY Mexico's sweeping away of seven decades of protectionism to let foreign companies back into its oil fields is crucial to bringing the expertise and money needed to rejuvenate a sclerotic energy industry, supporters say.
But even after approval by both houses of Congress this week, skeptics ask if Mexico has the ability or will to regulate private contracts for the benefit of all Mexicans, not just a few.
The final step for the energy package that passed Thursday is approval by the legislatures of 17 of Mexico's 31 states, because of its changes to the Mexican constitution. Passage is widely seen as assured.
Industry analysts and oil companies in the United States say both countries will benefit from the measure, which ends the monopoly of state-run Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, and allows the government to contract with foreign companies to explore and drill for oil and gas that Mexico hasn't tapped.
“It's a win-win if there ever was one,” said William Colton, Exxon Mobil's vice president of corporate strategic planning.
Mexican oil exports are projected to drop as U.S. production increases from new fields, but the increased investment in the Mexican economy “will boost productivity, economic growth and job creation,” President Enrique Pena Nieto said via his Twitter account.
While Pemex is a symbol of national pride and success, it is widely seen as bloated, backward and corrupt.
Many Mexicans are less than happy with previous hand-overs of state-run business. The privatization of banking and telecommunications in the 1990s resulted in high lending fees and cellphone bills.